What is the impact of a court's decision to allow autopsy photographs that may be gruesome for abuse of discretion?

We review the trial court's decision to allow autopsy and other photographs that may be gruesome for abuse of discretion. (People v. Lucas (1995) 12 Cal.4th 415, 449.) Here, the defense moved prior to trial for exclusion of "any autopsy photo other than the minimum necessary to depict each wound suffered by the decedent" and "[a]ny autopsy or crime scene photographs that depict the burn condition of the decedent's body." At that point, the trial court reviewed each of the photographs proffered by the prosecution, heard both sides' arguments for and against exclusion, and ruled on the admissibility of each photograph individually. The court did the same with respect to the crime scene

Page 20

photographs. As a result of the court's review, some photos were excluded and some were withdrawn by the prosecutor.