1.Autopsy Photograph Admission Ruling
21 linesJune 7, 2019
THE COURT: Y'all ready to get started?
RICK HUBBARD: Got a couple of things. Yesterday, I don't know that it was actually on the record, but I moved in as a Court's Exhibit two big notebooks full of the autopsy photos. There's 569 autopsy photos. That Court's Exhibit is 119A and B. And those were in two big notebooks, separate notebooks. I wanted to make that clear. And also, I just wanted to pick up on yesterday, the Defense's motion to restrict jurors on those photos, Your Honor. If Your Honor --
THE COURT: I'm not going to restrict the jurors.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you, Your Honor. Then I won't argue. (Whereupon, Court's Exhibit 119A and 119B were marked for identification only.)
THE COURT: We've had enough on those autopsy photos. Both sides have taken inconsistent positions. Y'all have traded positions. They've been admitted into evidence. They're going to stay in evidence.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you.
THE COURT: Everybody is protected on their rules and their rulings and their fairness and their constitutional issues. Everything they mentioned yesterday, I considered last night. They're in, they're going to stay in. They're not going to be restricted. They can stay in envelopes. I think that's the proper way to handle it.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you.
BOYD YOUNG: And I think I just need to put for the record, briefly, our rationale in attempting to show the photographs in voir dire was to gauge jurors abilities to handle the emotional nature of them. And our attempts to show them during the first phase of the trial was for that same reason, to make sure they wouldn't be overcome by their emotions and decide the penalty consistent with our motions and the social science that we've attached to it.
THE COURT: All right. Everybody is protected. They're in. They'll stay in the envelopes. The jurors can look at them if they so choose.
RICK HUBBARD: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: And we'll move on from there.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you.
SUZANNE MAYES: And Judge, it may speed things along. Our first witness is Jacquelyn Moran from Saxe Gotha. She was Eli's teacher. We had provided the photographs pursuant to discovery, but if Defense wants to go ahead and take a look at them now and that way, we know they're in evidence and we can speed things along.
BOYD YOUNG: I understand the Court's ruling and I'm not trying to bring it up again, we would renew our motion to strike photographs as not being part of Dr. Ross's testimony. We understand the Court's ruling, just needed to make the record clear.
THE COURT: You've got the clearest record ever. Bring the jury in. I don't know how Dr. Ross didn't testify to them when she handled each of them, identified each of them, called them by name and number. I mean, your record is protected, but she touched each photograph.
(Whereupon, a break while marking exhibits.)
(WHEREUPON, the jury entered the courtroom.)
THE COURT: All right. Ready to go? Everything good last night? Anybody communicated, any communication efforts? Okay. We'll continue on. Madam Solicitor.
SUZANNE MAYES: May it please the Court, the State calls Jacquelyn Moran.