Opinion ID: 1060826
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 25

Heading: introduction of photograph

Text: The appellant contends that the introduction of a family photograph of the victim with two of her children during the guilt phase of trial was irrelevant and was introduced solely for the purpose of inflaming the jury. Additionally, he contends that the photograph had a prejudicial effect on the jury's determination during the sentencing phase of the trial. Tennessee courts have followed a policy of liberality in the admission of photographs in both civil and criminal cases. State v. Banks, 564 S.W.2d 947, 949 (Tenn.1978) (citations omitted). This policy translates into the rule that the admissibility of photographs lies within the discretion of the trial court. Id. The trial court's ruling, in this respect, will not be overturned on appeal except upon a clear showing of an abuse of discretion. Id. (citations omitted); see also Stephenson, 878 S.W.2d at 542; Bordis, 905 S.W.2d at 226. However, before a photograph may be admitted into evidence, it must be relevant to an issue that the jury must decide and the probative value of the photograph must outweigh any prejudicial effect that it may have upon the trier of fact. State v. Braden, 867 S.W.2d 750, 758 (Tenn.Crim.App.), perm. to appeal denied, (Tenn.1993) (citation omitted); see also Tenn. R. Evid. 401 and 403. At trial, the challenged photograph was introduced through the testimony of the victim's sister. [1] The record indicates that the photograph was offered by the State to establish the victim's identity as a creature in being. [2] In Bolden v. State, 140 Tenn. 118, 203 S.W. 755 (1918), our supreme court held that the evidence necessary to establish the corpus delicti in [a homicide case] must show that the life of a human being has been taken, which question involves the subordinate inquiry as to the identity of the person charged to have been killed.... Thus, the State, in the present case, was required to prove, in its case-in-chief, that the person killed was the same person named in the indictment. See also 40 C.J.S. Homicide § 170 (1991); Annotation, Homicide: identification of victim as person named in indictment or information, 86 A.L.R.2d 722, 725 (1962). Thus, employing the test espoused in Banks, 564 S.W.2d at 949, we find no error in the admission of the photograph during the guilt phase of the trial. [3] See, e.g., State v. Scott, 626 S.W.2d 25, 28 (Tenn.Crim.App.1981); But see State v. Dicks, 615 S.W.2d 126, 128 (Tenn.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 933, 102 S.Ct. 431, 70 L.Ed.2d 240 (1981) (pictures of homicide victim while alive should not be admitted at trial unless relevant to a material issue, although such an error may not be prejudicial to the outcome). Finally, the appellant asks this court to speculate about the effect of the photograph upon the jury during the sentencing phase of the trial. Having concluded that the photograph was admissible during the guilt phase of trial, we find no prejudicial impact during the sentencing phase. This issue is without merit.