"Nothing about a party?"
"Nope. Mike and I only heard about the party when we got back to the dorm. A little after bed check, Rufus came by and told us about the 'special party' because Coach O'Toole wanted to impress us. It sounded like fun so we snuck out."
"And you told all of this to Mr. Larkin?"
"Well, as much as he would let me," Dalton replied. "He turned off the tape recorder and told me that I was lying. He said that if I didn't start telling the truth, he would personally see that I lost my scholarship and he'd make sure the story about the party and the strippers got in my hometown newspaper so that my parents and all my friends would see it…"
"Was there something you were ashamed of?"
"Well, Rufus said that Coach O'Toole had paid the strippers to give us oral sex and, well, that's what happened," Dalton replied, turning red and keeping his eyes averted from the jury.
"So did he turn the tape recorder back on after that?" Karp asked.
"Yes," the young man said, and held up the abbreviated transcript. "That's what this is. I was scared and just decided that I would just agree with whatever he asked and get the hell out of there."
"Now, Mr. Dalton, according to the transcript provided to the ACAA panel, you agreed with Mr. Larkin's statements that Coach O'Toole asked you not to cooperate with the ACAA investigation and that if questioned, you were supposed to lie. Is that true?"
"What? That I agreed with Mr. Larkin or that Coach O'Toole asked me not to cooperate and to lie?" Dalton asked.
Karp smiled. "Thank you for pointing out for the jury that after more than a quarter of a century, I still don't know how to separate my questions. I suggest you consider a career in law," he said as a ripple of laughter went around the courtroom. "Let's start with whether you agreed with Mr. Larkin's statements that Coach O'Toole told you not to cooperate and to lie."
"Well, first I told him that it wasn't true," Dalton said. "In fact, I called Coach O'Toole after Mr. Larkin contacted me and said he was flying out to interview me about the party and accusation against the coach."
"And did Coach O'Toole tell you not to cooperate and to lie?"
"No, just the opposite," Dalton said. "He said that he had nothing to hide and that I should answer Mr. Larkin's questions truthfully."
"And you did that?"
"I tried," Dalton said. "But Mr. Larkin kept accusing me of trying to protect Coach O'Toole. He said he was going to send a full report of what occurred at the party to my mom."
"Sounds like a schoolyard bully. Have you since told your parents about what happened?" Karp asked before Zusskin could react to the first statement.
"Yes," Dalton replied.
"And what was their response?"
Dalton took a deep breath and let it out. "They were pretty unhappy. That's not the way I was raised. I guess I was just trying to be a big man on campus."
"Did they blame Coach O'Toole?"
"At first," Dalton said. "They thought that there should have been more supervision. But after they heard the truth, they realized that it wasn't Coach O'Toole's fault. I was a man now, and I had to take responsibility for my actions."
"Were there any parental repercussions?"
Dalton nodded. "Yeah, they took my car away and grounded me for the summer." Again, laughter swirled around the courtroom.
"Your witness," Karp said with a smile, and turned to Zusskin.
The attorney approached the stand holding up the abbreviated transcript like Moses holding up the stone tablets. "Mr. Dalton, did you or did you not give these answers to the questions put to you by Mr. Larkin?"
"I did, but-"
"I'm not asking 'but,'" Zusskin interrupted. "You just got done telling us that you're a man now and had to take responsibility for your actions, which means answering my question yes or no. You have a copy of the transcript. Did you give these answers to Mr. Larkin?"
"Yes, sir."
"All right," Zusskin said. "I believe that the bailiff has already distributed copies of the transcript, so let's all read along, shall we? I direct the panel's eyes to line three of the first page."
"Do you mean line three of the page numbered seven?" Karp asked innocently.
"Yes, Mr. Karp," Zusskin replied. "I'll read the part of Investigator Larkin, who asked, 'Was Coach Mikey O'Toole aware that you were going to a party that other recruits were not invited to?' And your reply was?"
Dalton looked at the transcript and recited his line. "I said, 'Uh-huh.'"
"Good," Zusskin said. "Then Larkin asked, 'Did Coach O'Toole pay for the beer and entertainment, including sex with prostitutes, at this party?' And you answered?"
"'Uh-huh.'"
Zusskin turned to the next page. "This is a bit later in the interview…"
"Objection," Karp said. "The middle portion of the interview is not here, so Mr. Zusskin is only reading what he wants and out of context."
Zusskin looked at the judge. "Your Honor, Mr. Karp is aware that this was all discussed at a pretrial hearing and knows full well that you have admitted this transcript-the transcript used by the ACAA hearing panel to render its decision, I might add."
"Overruled," Allen said without further comment.
Zusskin nodded and looked back down at the transcript. "The jury will note the following sequence beginning at line thirteen, where Larkin asked, 'Did Coach O'Toole tell you not to cooperate with this investigation?' Your answer, Mr. Dalton?"
"He said I didn't have to…"
"Then Larkin asked, 'Were you, in fact, told to lie if someone asked you questions about this case?' Your reply?"
"'Uh-huh.'"
Zusskin closed the transcript. "Mr. Dalton, you told the jury that Mr. Larkin threatened you and that you gave other answers, but there is no record of that, am I right?"
"Well, he recorded some of it," Dalton replied. "So I don't know what happened to it."
"And we have your word on that?"
"Yes."
"But we also have these affirmative answers to Mr. Larkin's questions?"
"Yes."
"And we also know that you are a young man who by his own admission snuck out of a dormitory, illegally consumed alcohol, and-excuse the expression, ladies and gentlemen of the jury-got a blow job from a hooker?"
Dalton nodded. "Yes, I did all those things," he said.
"So now we're supposed to believe a young man who would do those things?"
"It's the truth."
"Which truth, Mr. Dalton? The real truth or what you made up for Mr. Karp-"
"Objection," Karp said. "Counsel knows better than that."
"Sustained," Allen said. "Mr. Zusskin, please rephrase your question."
"Yes, Your Honor," Zusskin replied. "So which truth are we to believe, Mr. Dalton, what you told plaintiff's investigator a couple of weeks ago, or when you were questioned by Mr. Larkin several months ago?"
"I guess now," Dalton replied.
"You guess?"
"Well, yeah, only the stuff that makes Coach O'Toole look bad is on here," Dalton said, thumbing through the transcript.
Karp then kept the redirect short and sweet. "Mr. Dalton, did Coach O'Toole to your knowledge ever tell you that he was aware of this party, or that he arranged for alcohol or strippers?"
"No."
"Did he ask you to lie or not cooperate with the ACAA investigation?"
"No."
"How would you describe Coach O'Toole?"
Dalton shrugged. "He was great. I mean, he told us that if we joined the team, he expected us to work hard, follow the rules, and get good grades or we wouldn't play. But he also seemed fair and like we'd be judged on our ability and work ethic."
"Why didn't you end up signing at the University of Northwest Idaho?"
"Because of all the stuff that happened after this came out," Dalton said. He carefully picked his next words, as he'd been instructed at a pretrial hearing not to mention the rape charges against Rufus Porter. "It looked like Coach O'Toole wouldn't be there anymore. And to be honest, I thought that Rufus Porter was an ass and I didn't want to be on the same team with a guy like that."