Keep Quiet(29)

Jake absorbed the information, momentarily speechless. He had known it was wrong to let Ryan drive, but he never would have expected it had legal implications, much less a prison sentence.

“No!” Ryan started shaking his head, agitated. “Mr. Hubbard, really, my dad just sat there, in the passenger seat! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

Hubbard nodded calmly, in Jake’s direction. “Yes, he did. He let you drive. You’re an underage driver. As such, if your father permits you to drive and you have a fatal accident, your father is legally more culpable than you. He is a person in a position of authority over you and he was supervising you. The law views him as running the show, not you.”

“That’s not fair, I was driving!” Ryan cried out, and Jake reached over and put a hand on his arm.

“Ryan, let him tell us the law and we’ll sort it out later.”

“No!” Ryan shook his head vehemently. “Mr. Hubbard, let me just ask you this, if we went to the police right now, and we told them I was driving and my dad was in the passenger seat, what would they do?”

“Without a plea bargain?”

“Yes, without a plea bargain, if we just went and told them the truth, everything, even that I smoked up before the movie, because that’s why my dad didn’t call the cops. He wanted to call 911, he told me to, but he knew they’d test me. Are you telling me they’d put him in jail?”

“Yes, they would,” Hubbard answered. “To reiterate, your father would be charged with involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison. You, as the driver, would probably be charged as a juvenile and enter the juvenile system.”

Jake heard that one glimmer of hope. “So Ryan wouldn’t be tried as an adult?”

“Probably not, if they had you. If he were charged as an adult, which is always possible, I would move to decertify and have him tried as a juvenile. Still I couldn’t guarantee I would prevail. He’s so big and well-spoken. He doesn’t come off like a child. He comes off like an adult.”

“But he’s sixteen. That’s young.”

“It’s in between, these days. He looks like an adult. I call it ‘the falsehood of physicality,’ but it hurts him in court. I know from bitter experience.” Hubbard inhaled briefly. “Let me explain the differences between the juvenile system and the adult system.”

Ryan fell back in his chair, his hand covering his mouth, and Jake said nothing, needing to understand the law.

Hubbard continued, “The purpose of the prison system for an adult is punishment. But in the juvenile system, the purpose is rehabilitation. If you were to tell the D.A. that Ryan was driving, he would be sent to what is called ‘placement,’ a euphemism for juvenile prison.”

Jake began to understand the implications, with a growing sense of dread. If he and Ryan turned themselves in, they would both be sent to prison. Even if they got some sort of plea deal, they would both serve some length of time in prison. Their legal position was even worse than he’d thought, and he’d thought it was awful.

“Most of these placements are up in the mountains, in facilities like Northwestern or Glen Mills. You, Ryan, would live and go to school there with other juvenile offenders. If you told the D.A. that you were driving under the influence, you would be evaluated and treated for substance abuse.”

Ryan recoiled. “I’m not a drug addict. I barely smoke. You can check it, they test us on the team.”

“Nevertheless, in three to six months, Ryan, your case would be reviewed. You would go before a judge, and you would have to show that you’re making good progress. You could conceivably be free in two years, but the system retains supervision of you until age twenty-one. You will have a criminal record.”

Jake tried to imagine the implications. Ryan’s life would be ruined, and Pam would be devastated. She couldn’t even deal with Ryan going to college, how would she deal with him going to prison? She would lose them both at once. She would never forgive Jake for ruining Ryan’s life and for destroying their family. She would divorce him. She would step down from the bench.

Hubbard raised his finger again. “One last point. The DUI. Even if they tested Ryan’s blood for marijuana, or THC metabolites, the D.A. couldn’t prove that he was under the influence at the time of the accident, or that his level was above the statutory minimum, which is .5 nanograms per liter of blood. The DUI charge drops out, which reduces the sentence from ten years to five.”

Jake tried to understand what he was being told. “So by leaving the scene, we evaded the DUI charge.”

“Correct, but they’ll offer you a worse deal. You don’t win, either way. I would advise you, in the strongest possible terms, to enter into a plea deal.” Hubbard glanced at Ryan, who looked numb with shock, pressed back in his chair, his eyes glistening. “If you decide to turn yourself in, that is.”

“What is the best deal you could get us, if we were to turn ourselves in?” Jake asked, reaching out to touch Ryan’s arm.

“The best, I think, is four years for you, and two for your son, with him sentenced as a juvenile.”

“So Ryan would be considered a juvenile?”

“If he goes in with you, there’s a better chance. If he goes in alone, probably not.”

Jake didn’t try to process the information, just to gather more. “Who makes the decision about whether he’s tried as a juvenile or as an adult?”