Does a court err when it refuses to use black-and-white photographs of a crime scene to "sanitize" the crime scene by trying to disguise blood?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Morales, 10 Cal.5th 76, 266 Cal.Rptr.3d 706, 470 P.3d 605 (Cal. 2020):

white instead of color. As the trial court noted at the pretrial hearing, color photographs better depict the "reality" of the scene and the injuries to the victim. The court did not err when it refused to "sanitiz[e] the crime scene by trying to disguise blood" through use of black and white photography. (See People v. Mathis (1965) 63 Cal.2d 416, 423, 46 Cal.Rptr. 785, 406 P.2d 65 ["It is difficult for a reviewing court to determine if black-and-white would be less inflammatory

[10 Cal.5th 105]

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