Opinion ID: 2428819
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Admission of Video Tape

Text: The Defendant also contends that the trial court erred in admitting a videotape of the crime scene made by Officer Garner of the homicide division, Memphis Police Department. The video recording, taken during the early stages of the investigation before the scene was disturbed, depicts the interior and exterior of the Jade East Restaurant and shows the victims as they were found. At trial the videotape was introduced through Officer Garner and played with sound for the jury, over the Defendant's objections that the tape included inadmissible narration and was inflammatory. While the trial court agreed with the Defendant that the narration by Officer Garner included inadmissible conclusions, because the narration also told the viewer what was being seen, rather than turning the volume off, the trial court instructed the jurors that the narrator's conclusions had no weight or value and were to be disregarded. After the tape was played, Officer Garner was cross-examined by the Defendant. The admissibility of authentic, relevant videotapes of the crime scene or victim is within the sound discretion of the trial judge, and his ruling on the admissibility of such evidence will not be overturned without a clear showing of abuse of discretion. State v. Teague, 645 S.W.2d 392, 397 (Tenn. 1983); see also, State v. Bates, 804 S.W.2d 868, 878-879 (Tenn. 1991); State v. Payne, 791 S.W.2d 10, 19-20 (Tenn. 1990); State v. Thompson, 768 S.W.2d 239, 248 (Tenn. 1989) (death penalty cases in which videotapes of the crime scene and victim were used). See generally Annot. 41 A.L.R.4th 877, § 11 (1985); Annot. 60 A.L.R.3d 333 (1974). In this case the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the visual portion of the videotape. The tape is neither gruesome nor inflammatory and is highly probative as to the condition and appearance of the crime scene. The trial court, however, should not have allowed the jury to hear Officer Garner's narration. Officer Garner made numerous conclusory statements. A sampling includes: [the dining room area] doesn't appear to be disturbed or that anyone has been in this area; ring laying on floor appears to have been dropped there during the robbery; two black boxes possibly contained large amounts of jewelry, this room ... appears to be where the victims might have been prior to being killed; rear door apparently where employees came in during daylight hours. The better practice would have been for the trial court to have turned off the volume and had Officer Garner narrate the tape from the witness stand. We are of the opinion, however, that allowing the jury to hear the narration was harmless error because the objectionable narration pertained mainly to minor matters or facts established by proper evidence elsewhere in the record and because of the clear evidence of the Defendant's guilt as established by the other evidence.