Appendix E -7 Defendant's Request to Limit Use of Photographs

• Library: How to Try a Murder Case: Pretrial and Trial Guidelines for Prosecution and Defense (ABA) (2011 Ed.)

APPENDIX E-7 Defendant's Request to Limit Use of Photographs

Defendant, by undersigned counsel, respectfully requests that this Honorable Court hold a hearing to examine all photographs the State intends to introduce into evidence at either the guilt-or-innocence phase and/or the sentencing hearing and to rule on their admissibility before the commencement of trial. In support of this motion, the Defendant states the following:

1. The Defendant is charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the above-captioned matter.
2. The State has filed a Notice of Intention to Seek a Sentence of Death.
3. Photographs are generally inadmissible where their potential for prejudice outweighs their probative value. Broberg v. State, 342 Md. 544, 552, 677 A.2d 602, 605 (1996); Bedford v. State, 317 Md. 659, 676, 566 A.2d 111, 119 (1989); see also State v. Tichnell, 306 Md. 428, 463, 509 A.2d 1179, 1197, cert. denied, 479 U.S. 995 (1986); Grandison v. State, 305 Md. 685, 729, 506 A.2d 580, 602, cert. denied, 479 U.S. 873 (1986). The introduction of photographs of the victim's body at the crime scene or at the time of autopsy will serve no purpose at the sentencing proceeding other than to shock and inflame the trier of fact and to invoke sympathy for the victim.
4. Photographs must be relevant to be admissible. Broberg, 342 Md. at 553, 677 A.2d at 605-06. Generally, where photographs are not prejudicial, they may be admitted into evidence with autopsy reports, and introduced to help determine the culpability of the defendant. Madison v. State, 200 Md. 1, 87 A.2d 593 (1952); Fuller v. State, 45 Md. App. 414, 413 A.2d 277 (1980). Nonprejudicial photographs may also be admitted into evidence to link the defendant to the murder. United States v. Kolbourne, 559 F.2d 1263 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 873 (1977). However, in those instances where the probative value of relevant photographs is outweighed by their prejudicial

...