Jury selection continues in staged car crash trial involving New Orleans attorneys, slain witness

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Jury selection stretched through Monday (March 2) in federal court without a panel seated in the high-profile staged car crash scheme trial against New Orleans injury attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter asked dozens of potential jurors whether they knew anyone who could testify in the case against the defendants. That included questions about Cornelius Garrison, a witness in the case who was killed as an FBI investigation mounted against a group of injury attorneys and others allegedly involved in staging vehicle crashes to win large settlements.

Jurors questioned individually

Vitter and attorneys questioned prospective jurors one at a time about whether they had read about the case. Attorney and Fox 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti called that a smart move.

“If you do it all together and one juror has an excuse that gets them out ... pretty soon a lot of those jurors are going to have that same excuse. I think the smart move is to take them one by one, so they don’t spread the virus of getting cut,” Raspanti said.

Raspanti said the central question for jurors is straightforward: “The magic word is can you be fair to the defendants?” he said.

Slain witness, related charges

Judge Vitter has said she will allow testimony submitted by Garrison before his death to be used at trial with some stipulations. Kenner attorney Sean Alfortish and alleged co-conspirator Leon Parker, who are charged in connection with Garrison’s murder, are not scheduled to go on trial until later this year.

Defendant Ryan Harris has already pleaded guilty in connection with Garrison’s death.

Scope of the case

Sixty-three people have been charged in connection with the alleged staged crash scheme. Raspanti said those who have already pleaded guilty are likely to testify.

“Usually when you plead guilty in federal court, part of your plea agreement is that you will cooperate with the federal government, and that type of cooperation many times includes testifying in a trial,” Raspanti said.

Both Giles and Motta face fraud and obstruction of justice charges. Raspanti said the trial could last through the month.

Attorneys said a jury is expected to be seated by mid-morning Tuesday with opening statements to follow shortly after.

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