Court Opinion

ID: 9458264
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 20:46:52.154128+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:35:41.677524
License: Public Domain

ADAMS, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
To say the least, in this case, the evidence tending to establish liability on the part of the railroad is not overwhelming. Indeed, it would be fair to say that the plaintiff’s case went to the jury without any excess baggage, perhaps without enough baggage. No direct evidence was introduced to show that the bar on the left front door of the passenger car had been left open so as to invite the decedent to alight from that side of the train, as plaintiff’s counsel suggests. On the question of the failure of the operator of the freight train to signal its approach, the engineer testified that he did, in fact, sound his horn and bell, whereas various of the passengers on the commuter train testified only that they did not hear a signal. Because the liability issue was so close and the verdict so large, I cannot agree with the majority’s holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting into evidence the photograph of decedent’s son taken one and a half years prior to the trial.1
It is hornbook law to state that evidence to be admissible must be probative, relevant and competent. Although the photograph was competent to depict the appearance of the decedent’s son at a time one and one-half years prior to trial, the dispute here centers on the relevance and probative value that may be assigned to the picture.
The only arguable relevance the photograph may have had was with regard to determining the pecuniary loss suffered by the boy’s not having the care, nurture and education of his father. Additionally, the majority opinion relies on the necessity of the jury’s finding the length of expected dependence on the father by the son based on the appearance and health of the son.
New Jersey decisional law has made clear that the pecuniary loss spoken of in the Wrongful Death Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:31-5, may include compensation for loss of care, nurture, and education. The concept of the loss has been described in the leading New Jersey case of Clark v. Prime, 18 N.J.Misc. 226, 12 A.2d 635, 636 (1940):
“It is certainly possible, and not only so, but highly probable, that a mother’s nurture, instruction and training, if judiciously administered, will operate favorably upon the worldly prospects and pecuniary interests of the child. The object of such training and education is not simply to prepare them for another world, but to act well their part in this, and to promote their temporal welfare.”
citing, Tilley v. Hudson River R. Co., 29 N.Y. 252, 86 Am.Dec. 297 (emphasis added).2
The emphasis of the above-cited language is clearly on the parent’s endeavor to. care for and educate the child, not on the ability of the child to put the training to proper use. Thus, while the efforts that would have been expended by a deceased parent in this regard might be relevant to the jury’s calculation of damages, the appearance of the child certainly has no bearing whatsoever on the computation. In short, it is irrelevant.
The second ground advanced by the majority, that the jury should see a photograph of the child so that it might determine the length of time the child could be expected to be dependent on its father, similarly has no rational foundation. The majority asserts that if the *1317child appeared healthy, the jury would be justified in finding that the child would survive its period of dependence, and vice versa. This evaluation by the jury of the child’s chances of survival to eighteen years of age, his majority, might be reasonable if the child were in the courtroom and the jury could observe his actual physical appearance. Here, however, the photograph was taken one and one-half years prior to the trial, and may have been one among many photographs the plaintiff selected to put the child in the best possible light. Moreover, the loss of dependence to which the photograph is addressed means, in effect, that the father, had he not been killed, would have contributed a certain amount to his child each year until the child reached his majority. The amount to be thus contributed each year is not in issue, but rather the number of years for which such amount is to be calculated. This depends on the prospects of the child surviving his majority. Perhaps the best evidence of such possibility would be the testimony of a physician familiar with the child’s health, or testimony by his mother or someone close, who had a similar opportunity to observe him, regarding his health and mental condition. Instead, plaintiff placed before the jury a picture of the child taken eighteen months before the trial, and from this the jury was to determine, based on such picture, whether the child was apt to live to his majority. It is clear that a conclusion based on such reasoning would rely on mere conjecture because of the substantial likelihood that significant physical changes will occur in a child’s physical appearance and well-being between the ages of four and a half and six. Thus, the photograph is irrelevant to the issue of length of dependence, and is completely lacking in probative value.
The final basis for permitting the photograph to go to the jury is the majority’s rationale that since the child could have been present in the courtroom, any error in admitting the picture was harmless. Common sense demands that such reasoning be rejected. If the child were present, the jury could view its behavior and appearance and make whatever reasonable findings it might, based on these factors. Additionally, the child would be subject to cross-examination concerning his recollection of his health; such is not possible with a photograph. Moreover, the child would in no circumstances be present with the jury during its deliberations.
There was no evidence indicating that the photograph was a randomly chosen item showing the child’s normal behavior or appearance. In all probability, the photographer carefully posed the child, and prior to trial, the plaintiff undoubtedly must have made a choice of which picture to submit to the jury — the one no doubt showing the child to best advantage. Moreover, the photograph went out with the jury while it deliberated, and it does not require great imagination to visualize a juror, not sure of his decision on the liability question, being shown the picture and told, “Just think what will happen to this beautiful child if we don’t find the defendant liable.” The likelihood of such an occurrence is so great that, in my opinion, the error of permitting the photograph to go to the jury could not be considered harmless.3
It seems clear that the prejudice engendered by the photograph so outweighed its nonexistent relevance or probative value that the district court abused its broad discretion when it admitted the picture into evidence and permitted it to go out to the jury. Accordingly, because the question of liability was close and the picture so prejudicial, I would reverse the judgment of the district court, and would direct that a new trial be granted not inconsistent with the views expressed herein.

. I, of course, disagree with the majority’s alternative holding on this point, supra, n. 3, that any error committed was harmless within the intent of 28 U.S.C. § 2111.

. See Frasier v. Public Service Int. Transp. Co., 244 F.2d 068 (2d Cir. 1957); Meehan v. Central R. Co. of N. J., 181 F.Supp. 594, 610-611 (S.D.N.Y.1960).

. It is equally apparent that the prejudice created by the photograph might well have had some bearing on the size of the jury’s verdict.