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(WBEN) Dr. James Corasanti told jurors he had "zero suspicion" that he'd struck a person while driving home from an outing at his country club one night last summer. He wept on the stand as he recalled his distress upon learning a short time later that he'd hit a skateboarder.
Jurors asked for a flashlight to examine the hood of his BMW and wanted to gaze at autopsy photos as they started to debate his fate.What does it all mean?
WBEN's #1 Legal Analysts-- Former District Attorney Frank Clark & Nationally Known Defense Attorney Paul Cambria- joined John Zach & Susan Rose Wednesday morning to analyze the case as jurors began their deliberations.
Along with vehicular manslaughter and manslaughter, Corasanti is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident without reporting it and evidence tampering. Prosecutors have accused him of removing the tissue from his car and deleting text messages from his cellphone. He faces up to 23 years in prison if convicted.
HEAR CLARK AND CAMBRIA analyze the case, and even tease each other about being prosecutor and defenders.
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Segment One: On The Jury's Early Requests, and on Closing Arguments "It's not surprising (jurors) wanted to see the car, but you never know why they want certain testimony read back."- Frank Clark "You never know with the read-back of testimony," -- Paul Cambria |
Segment Two: Of Chalkboards, Post-It Notes, and Why Schoolteachers and Engineers make poor jurors. "I would rather have them have a visceral reaction, rather than over analyze." - Paul Cambria "I particularly don't like school teachers on juries," - Frank Clark |
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Segment Three: Inside The Jury Room, and Inside The Mind of A Juror "There are no rules once they get in that room," - Cambria "They are like snowflakes. Each one is different. .. " - Clark |
Segment Four: On Sequestration, and the difference between Day One & Day Two "Once they retire for the evening, they don't start deliberating until the next morning." - Clark "They don't allow them (to say) 'Steak and lobster! Boy am I glad I'm on a jury'," - Cambria |
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Segment Five: On The Charges and The Law "Manslaughter in the second degree, reckless manslaughter is a very difficult concept.. jurors, not just this jury, but jurors in general have some real problems with that (vague) charge.," - Clark "Here they have to show he perceived the danger and ignored it. That's why it's a little confusing," - Cambria |
Segment Six: On memorable theatrics, eye-contact and how long will it take to reach a verdict? "I just think they are going to come in sometime mid-to-late afternoon," - Clark "If someone's in there with a chart and post-its and a flashlight and the rest of it, there's someone in there who, you know, is CSI Buffalo, and it's going to take a while to persuade that person." -Cambria |