State v. Collins’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Photographs made during or after an autopsy should be scrutinized and examined prior to being shown to the jury. If other considerations substantially outweigh the probative value of the evidence, it should be excluded. In State v. Banks, 564 S.W.2d 947, 951 (Tenn.1978), our supreme court recognized “the inherently prejudicial character of photographic depictions of a murder victim.... ” In adopting Federal Rule of Evidence 403 as its test for admissibility, the court suggested a variety of factors for consideration by the trial judge. The “value of photographs as evidence, ... their accuracy and clarity ... whether they were taken before the corpse was moved ... [and] the inadequacy of the testimonial evidence in relating the facts to the jury” are appropriate factors. The term “unfair prejudice” has been defined as “[a]n undue tendency to suggest decision on an improper basis, commonly ... an emotional one.” One authority characterizes evidence that is unfairly prejudicial as that designed to appeal to the sympathy, sense of horror, or instinct to punish. The issue, in our view, is one of simple fairness. Prejudice becomes unfair when the primary purpose of the evidence at issue is to elicit emotions of “bias, sympathy, hatred, contempt, retribution, or horror.” Murder is an absolutely reprehensible crime. Yet our criminal justice system is designed to establish a forum for unimpaired reason, not emotional reaction. Evidence which only appeals to sympathies, conveys a sense”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Price