Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Adult Violence at Kid Sporting Events at Center of Trial

Aired January 04, 2002 - 07:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Adult violence at kid sporting events is at the center of a trial that resumes today in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A hockey dad is accused of beating another father to death. During opening statements, the defense and the prosecution offered conflicting accounts of just who started that fight.

CNN's Bill Delaney has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jurors brought to inspect the skating rink outside Boston, where one father killed another following a dispute over a hockey practice involving mostly 10-year-olds.

Thomas Junta charged with manslaughter for beating to death Michael Costin, who had been supervising a mid-summer hockey practice in July, 2000 that three of his sons took part in. They then watched their father die.

In a Cambridge, Massachusetts courtroom, the prosecution alleging Junta's rage over his son's treatment at the practice drove him to violence.

SHEILA CALKINS, PROSECUTOR: That he (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mr. Costin, threw Mr. Costin to the floor, kneeled over or sat on Mr. Costin, and proceeded to punch him repeatedly to the left side of his head and neck area.

DELANEY: The defense alleging Junta, while upset about a rough hockey practice, only fought in self defense.

THOMAS ORLANDI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thomas Junta senses something to his left. He turns, and he'll tell you, he saw a man, now he recognizes as the deceased, his hand is here. It's coming up, his leg is up, and the punch is flying at his face. And Mr. Junta is trying to pull the hand away, Costin is coming up, and Mr. Junta does hit him. He says he does. Three punches -- one, two, three -- it's over.

DELANEY: In all, more than 35 witnesses expected to be called; 11 of them children, including sons of both the accused and deceased.

(on camera): Death from overaggressive parents at children's sporting events is very rare, but the behavior itself is not. A November, 1999 study concluded more than half of parents have observed other parents becoming too worked up at children's sporting events.

(voice-over): A trend some see reflecting a larger breakdown of civility values.

STEVE BURKE, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: We are a society that's based on winning. People celebrate the winners, and they look differently at the losers.

DELANEY: The trial is expected to take about a week. Thomas Junta could go to prison for 20 years.

Bill Delaney, CNN, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Joining us now with some perspective and some insight on this case is Cynthia Alksne. She is a former federal prosecutor, and she is in our Washington bureau -- good morning. How are you?

CYNTHIA ALKSNE, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good morning.

HARRIS: Well...

ALKSNE: A bad morning for Nebraska fans, but otherwise a good morning.

HARRIS: A very bad morning, yes. As a matter of fact, their day ended about before the first half was over with, and we'll talk about that later on this morning.

But what do you make of how this case is shaping up right now?

ALKSNE: Well, it's a fascinating case, not only it's fascinating for those of us to watch. It's a great case for the prosecution and an interesting triable case for the defense, and here is why. It's great for the prosecution, because of the cold, hard facts. And that is, the defendant in this case outweighs the victim by 100 pounds. He hit him repeatedly in the face and the neck area, and slammed his head on a concrete floor, while his children watched the victim die. So it's a very concrete triable case for the prosecution.

On the other hand for the defense, it's an interesting case to try, because the victim will test -- I mean, the defendant will testify and take the stand, and the victim started the fight. So it's a triable case for the defense as well, and then fascinating, of course, for all of us who watch, not only from the period interest of watching the battle of the lawyers of the law, but also because it's a jumping off point for all of us to discuss the issues that are going on in our culture.

HARRIS: Yes, and we have been quite a bit since this story first surfaced. Let me ask you, though, about the idea of having these children testify. This could be inflammatory, couldn't it, and perhaps dangerous?

ALKSNE: I don't think it's inflammatory or dangerous. These are 10 and 11-year-old children. When we're talking four and five year olds, there are a lot of issues in the law. But a 10 or an 11-year- old child certainly knows the difference between a truth and a lie, can be cross-examined gently and can talk about this. I mean, the reality is that these children watched their father die. Other children watched this man die, and even the defendant's children -- or child watched his father kill this man. And they are all eyewitnesses and need to testify in order for there to be a fair result.

HARRIS: Yes, actually I think I'm more interested in hearing what the defendant's son is going to be saying when he takes the stand, because it's got to be -- that's got to be a very difficult position, huh?

ALKSNE: A very tough position for a small child -- very tough position for him. And the manner in which the prosecution handles him will be critical. You know, what happens -- one of the things that happens in a trial is that lawyers build up their creditability with the jury, and then that happens -- that plays out in the jury room when they're making a decision. If the prosecutor is not fair to this child, or disrespectful in any way or too tough, she will be very sorry later when it comes time for the jury to make a decision.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

ALKSNE: ... very careful.

HARRIS: Yes, that was I was thinking when I was asking about a danger here in having these children on the stand, and if you handle them too roughly or too strong -- you know, too strongly, then that could be a problem.

Let me ask you about one other report I heard as well. I heard a report that both men actually had police records. Do we know anything about that?

ALKSNE: What we know is there has been a dispute before the trial of whether or not the defense could bring in the criminal record of the victim. And the judge has not allowed it. And it makes sense, and here is why. Because in a self-defense case, the only thing that's important is what did the defendant know about the victim? For instance, if a defendant knew that a victim was a multiple felon, and he was known to carry a gun and had a knife on him, that's an important fact in a defense case.

If, on the other hand, the defendant doesn't know the victim at all, it's not important whether or not the victim has any criminal record. And in this case, the defendant and the victim don't know each other. So the only purpose of bringing up a criminal record of a victim is to dirty a victim up, so a jury doesn't care about the victim and doesn't want to convict. So the judge made the right decision here, in my opinion.

HARRIS: Do you really think this guy can get a fair trial there? This has been a topic on talk radio in that state for so long, ever since this incident happened, and it has inflamed people so much. Do you think it's possible for him to actually have a, you know, a totally unbiased jury pool there?

ALKSNE: I'll tell you what. Well, I think that jurors really do take their oath seriously to look at a case. I was stunned at what a fine job the defense attorney did yesterday. He very effectively humanized the defendant. He told the jury that he would be waving his rights and actually testifying, which always makes a jury happy about a defendant. And he really made the case interesting for them and set the stage, so that they maybe understood this man's anger. He has fine representation, and I think he will get a fair trial.

HARRIS: Wow! Interesting. Do you expect any surprises?

ALKSNE: There are always surprises in the courtroom.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. We'll be watching. We hope we get a chance to talk to you about it too. Cynthia Alksne -- thank you very much.

ALKSNE: Thank you.

HARRIS: And sorry about your Nebraska Cornhuskers (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ALKSNE: Oh, don't even bring it up again.

HARRIS: Better luck next time.

ALKSNE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: All right. Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.