Opinion ID: 161858
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Photograph of Victim

Text: The trial court admitted into evidence a photograph of the victim with his mother, taken approximately five years before his death. In support of its admission, the prosecution contended that Mr. Jones placed the appearance of the victim into dispute, through testimony that suggested Mr. Briggs was “scary.” Rec. vol. IV, at 246 (testim. of Brenda Charley); vol. V, at 538 (testim. of Mr. Jones). Mr. Jones objected to the photograph’s admission and stipulated to the identity of the victim. We note that “[t]he trial judge’s exercise of discretion in balancing the prejudicial effect and probative value of photographic evidence of this type is rarely disturbed.” United States v. Joe, 8 F.3d 1488, 1499 (10th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks omitted). We acknowledge that in Joe the defense did not stipulate to the identification of the victim, and that here the photograph is not probative of the victim’s identity. However, we agree with the government that the photograph was relevant to the disputed appearance of the victim. Moreover, the photographs were not unfairly prejudicial. Cf. United States v. Naranjo, 710 F.2d 1465, 1468 (10th Cir. 1983) (admission of photograph depicting entry wound at the right upper lip of victim, “and a great deal of blood on the pillow, bedsheets, and the victim’s face” was not “unduly nor designedly inflammatory” and the jury was not improperly prejudiced by it). However, we must admonish -13- the government, as we did with reference to its choice of closing words, to select its exhibits carefully. The proffering of a five-year old photograph of the victim seated with his mother, as opposed to a more recent (if available) or at least a cropped photograph depicting only the victim, needlessly pushes the prosecutorial envelope, and could, if coupled with errors not present here, jeopardize a conviction.