Opinion ID: 1801948
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Alleged error in admitting photographs of the victims

Text: Over defendant's objection, the trial court admitted into evidence at the guilt phase 10 graphic photographs of the Merck crime scene and the bodies of the Mercks as they were found, including closeup views of the bound arms and legs of the victimsthe flesh discolored and bloated due to decompositionand a closeup view of the back of Alma's head with a telephone cord wrapped around her neck. The trial court also admitted a single, somewhat blurry, full-length photograph of Alma taken when she was alive, wearing a ring on one of her fingers. (23) Defendant contends the trial court abused its discretion by admitting these photographs because their prejudicial effect outweighed their probative value. (Evid. Code, § 352.) Evidence Code section 352 permits the trial court, in its discretion, to exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will . . . create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing the issues, or of misleading the jury. As we have explained, `[M]urder is seldom pretty, and pictures, testimony and physical evidence in such a case are always unpleasant' [citation], and we rely on our trial courts to ensure that relevant, otherwise admissible evidence is not more prejudicial than probative [citation]. A trial court's decision to admit photographs under Evidence Code section 352 will be upheld on appeal unless the prejudicial effect of such photographs clearly outweighs their probative value. ( People v. Gurule (2002) 28 Cal.4th 557, 624 [123 Cal.Rptr.2d 345, 51 P.3d 224].) We find no abuse of discretion in the admission of the postmortem photographs of the Mercks. Defendant was charged with first degree, premeditated murder. The challenged photographs showed how the victims had been restrained before they were killed, as well as the manner of the killings themselvesgunshots to the head, and strangulation. They thus were relevant to establish that the perpetrator intended to kill and that the killing was premeditated and deliberate. The photographs also clarified the testimony of Laskowski, Nerida and the coroner regarding the victims' restraints and wounds, and the locations and positions in which their bodies were found. ( People v. Box (2000) 23 Cal.4th 1153, 1199 [99 Cal.Rptr.2d 69, 5 P.3d 130]; People v. Scheid (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1, 18 [65 Cal.Rptr.2d 348, 939 P.2d 748].) Nor did the prejudicial effect of these photographs clearly outweigh[] their probative value ( People v. Gurule, supra, 28 Cal.4th at p. 624). Evidence is prejudicial within the meaning of Evidence Code section 352 if it `uniquely tends to evoke an emotional bias against a party as an individual' ( People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 19, quoting People v. Garceau (1993) 6 Cal.4th 140, 178 [24 Cal.Rptr.2d 664, 862 P.2d 664]) or if it would cause the jury to `prejudg[e] a person or cause on the basis of extraneous factors' ( People v. Zapien (1993) 4 Cal.4th 929, 958 [17 Cal.Rptr.2d 122, 846 P.2d 704]). We have examined the photographs and agree with the trial court that they are not unduly prejudicial. As the trial court noted, the photographs do not have dismembered parts, these are people not [ sic ] laid out on a slide and cut up to show trajectories or probes inside of organs or body parts. (Cf. People v. Allen (1986) 42 Cal.3d 1222, 1258 [232 Cal.Rptr. 849, 729 P.2d 115] [photographs that did not show bodies grossly disfigured during autopsy were not unduly prejudicial].) They do not depict the victims' faces; only the back of Alma's head and ear are visible in one photograph, and Clifford's head is hidden by the pillow over it. (See People v. Davis (2009) 46 Cal.4th 539, 615 [94 Cal.Rptr.3d 322, 208 P.3d 78]; People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 19.) There are no closeup views of Clifford's fatal wounds, and although some blood is visible in the photographs, there are not copious amounts. Moreover, given the time that passed between the murders and the discovery of the bodies, it was inevitable that the photographs would depict some decomposition. In any event, we do not find the photographs unduly gruesome. (See People v. Davis, supra, 46 Cal.4th at pp. 558, 615 [photograph of victim's badly decomposed body not gruesome].) For all of these reasons, the trial court reasonably could find that the probative value of these photographs outweighed any potentially prejudicial effect. (24) Defendant asserts that the manner and cause of the victims' deaths and the intent of the perpetrator were not disputed at trial; rather, the only seriously contested issue was the perpetrator's identity, and the photographs were irrelevant to that question. But defendant's not guilty plea put in issue all of the elements of the charged offenses, including the elements he conceded. ( People v. Steele (2002) 27 Cal.4th 1230, 1243 [120 Cal.Rptr.2d 432, 47 P.3d 225]; see also Estelle v. McGuire (1991) 502 U.S. 62, 69 [116 L.Ed.2d 385, 112 S.Ct. 475] [the prosecution's burden to prove every element of the crime is not relieved by a defendant's tactical decision not to contest an essential element].) Thus, the prosecution was still entitled to prove its case and especially to prove a fact so central to the basic question of guilt as intent. ( People v. Steele, supra, 27 Cal.4th at p. 1243; see also People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at pp. 15-17.) Defendant also contends that the manner of restraint and the cause of death were amply described in oral testimony; therefore the photographs were cumulative. But a prosecutor is not required to rely solely on oral testimony when a visual image would enhance the jury's understanding of the issues. (See People v. Gurule, supra, 28 Cal.4th at p. 624 [the jury is entitled to see details of the victims' bodies to determine if the evidence supports the prosecution's theory of the case]; People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at pp. 16, 19.) Defendant argues that the record does not show that the trial court discharged its duty under Evidence Code section 352 to weigh the probative value of each photograph against its individual prejudicial effect. Rather, the court relied on generalities in admitting the photographs en masse. But defendant has forfeited any claim of error in this respect. Before jury selection began, defendant made a blanket motion to exclude any and all postmortem photographs of the victims. [26] After examining all of the photographs the prosecutor wanted to have available to introduce at trial, the trial court properly overruled defendant's pretrial objection to the extent it was based on relevance, because without knowing what the evidence at trial would be, the court could not conclusively say that any of the photographs would be irrelevant. The court's ruling left open the possibility that, upon proper objection, it might later conclude that any particular photograph was irrelevant. The trial court also properly denied petitioner's motion to exclude the photographs as more prejudicial than probative, because it concluded they had no prejudicial effect in the sense encompassed by Evidence Code section 352, and therefore there was no possibility that their probative value, if any, could be outweighed by any prejudicial effect. Thereafter, defendant did not object to the photographs when they were marked as exhibits during trial; nor did he object when they were moved into evidence. Accordingly, defendant has forfeited any claim that the trial court erred by failing to weigh each photograph's individual probative value against its individual prejudicial effect. Finally, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the photograph of Alma Merck while alive. Although the photograph is somewhat grainy, defendant concedes, as he must, that it was relevant to show that Alma had worn a ring similar to the ring recovered from defendant's sister, Catherine Glass. Moreover, defendant fails to persuade us that the photograph, which the trial court described as grandmotherly, was unduly inflammatory. (See People v. Davis, supra, 46 Cal.4th at p. 615 [school portrait of young female victim not unduly inflammatory].) Indeed, the possibility that [the photograph] generated sympathy for the victim[] [was] not enough, by itself, to compel its exclusion given its relevance. ( People v. DeSantis (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1198, 1230 [9 Cal.Rptr.2d 628, 831 P.2d 1210]; but see People v. Kelly (1990) 51 Cal.3d 931, 963 [275 Cal.Rptr. 160, 800 P.2d 516] [marginally relevant photograph of young victim probably should have been excluded].) Even assuming error, it was harmless under any standard. The jury was well aware from other testimony that the Mercks were a frail elderly couple who spent time with their children and grandchildren. In this respect, the photograph would have generated no more sympathy for the victims than Alma's children and grandchildren testifying live from the witness stand. (See People v. Scheid, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 20; People v. DeSantis, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 1230.) Moreover, there was strong evidence connecting defendant to the Merck murders, including the presence of his fingerprints at the crime scene and his connection to the murder weapon. We are confident the admission of the photograph had no effect on the verdicts finding defendant guilty of the Merck murders.