Opinion ID: 2161334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Exclusion of Photographs.

Text: It is also urged by the city that the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence certain photographs offered as exhibits by the city. There was testimony by Mr. Vollert that Exhibits 5, 8, 10, 15, and 17 were not accurate representations of the scene as it existed during the period in dispute. The pictures were taken only a few days before trial, and the photographer acknowledged that he could not testify that the pictures portrayed the property as it had existed previously.  The trial court conducted an extensive inquiry into the matter of the admissibility of these pictures, and its conclusion to deny admissibility was well within its discretion. Commerce Ins. Co. v. Badger Paint & Hardware Stores (1953), 265 Wis. 174, 60 N. W. (2d) 742; Cottrill v. Pinkerton (1933), 211 Wis. 310, 248 N. W. 124; Baraboo v. Excelsior Creamery Co. (1920), 171 Wis. 242, 177 N. W. 36; Mauch v. Hartford (1901), 112 Wis. 40, 87 N. W. 816. An example of a case in which photographs were held to contain misrepresentations is Hadrian v. Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Co. (1942), 241 Wis. 122, 130, 1 N. W. (2d) 755, 3 N. W. (2d) 700, 5 N. W. (2d) 765. In an article on the subject of demonstrative evidence appearing in 32 Wisconsin Bar Bulletin (February, 1959), p. 17, the writer of this opinion made the following comment: A photograph is not necessarily a true representation of what it purports to depict and, therefore, it is essential upon objection that the proponent of the evidence satisfy the trial judge as to the fairness of the representation.