Opinion ID: 2594735
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Object to Photographs of Murder Victim

Text: Defendant faults trial counsel for not objecting to the admission into evidence of photographs of victim Mary Frances Litovich's charred body and of her when she was alive. Defendant argues the photographs were irrelevant to any issue in the case. Established rules of evidence govern the admissibility of photographs. ( People v. Crittenden, supra, 9 Cal.4th at p. 132, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 474, 885 P.2d 887.) Only relevant evidence is admissible. (Evid.Code, § 351.) Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency in reason to prove or disprove any disputed fact that is of consequence to the action, including the credibility of witnesses. ( Id., § 210.) The photograph of Litovich's body was relevant because it corroborated and clarified not only arson investigator Jakubowski's testimony as to where and how the fire started and spread, but also the coroner's testimony regarding the cause of death and condition of the body. ( People v. Scheid (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1, 18, 65 Cal.Rptr.2d 348, 939 P.2d 748; People v. Crittenden, supra, 9 Cal.4th at p. 132, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 474, 885 P.2d 887; People v. Pride (1992) 3 Cal.4th 195, 243, 10 Cal. Rptr.2d 636, 833 P.2d 643.) The photograph was also relevant to the prosecution's proof of the charges of forcible rape, residential robbery, and arson with great bodily injury. Contrary to defendant's assertion, photographs of a murder victim may be relevant in murder cases tried on any theory, including the theory of felony murder. ( People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at pp. 17-18, 65 Cal.Rptr.2d 348, 939 P.2d 748.) The photograph of Litovich when she was alive was relevant to Officer Hinds's identification of her as the person to whom he spoke shortly before discovery of the fire, thereby assisting the prosecution in establishing the chronological order of events. (See People v. DeSantis (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1198, 1230, 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 628, 831 P.2d 1210.) We reject defendant's argument that trial counsel could have prevented the admission into evidence of the photographs by stipulating to the truth of matters to which they were relevant. (See People v. Pride, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 243, 10 Cal.Rptr.2d 636, 833 P.2d 643.) We also reject defendant's assertion that trial counsel was incompetent in not objecting, on the ground of lack of foundation, to the admission of the photograph of the victim when she was alive. For the reasons given above, such an objection would not have been well taken and would therefore have been futile. Finally, an objection by the defense counsel to the introduction into evidence of the photograph of Litovich's body on the ground that it was more prejudicial than probative would not have succeeded. (Evid.Code, § 352.) We have independently reviewed the photographs, and we conclude that they are not unduly gruesome or inflammatory. ( People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 19, 65 Cal.Rptr.2d 348, 939 P.2d 748; People v. Pride, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 243, 10 Cal.Rptr.2d 636, 833 P.2d 643.)