Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Re: Getting a photo in evidence enlarged in VA

What do you mean it has alread been introduced into evidence? Are you in the middle of the trial right now? Do you have an attorney?

Are you in zip code 22201? Who is the judge?

Basically the prosecutor has no right to object to you examining their evidence and cross-examining by enlarging the photograph. It is a ridiculous idea that they can object.

However, what they could be saying is that you did not give any advance notice of your plans to do this.

Also, you may have to bring in the professional doing the enlarging to testify about what he did.

For example, you bring in the enlarged photograph, but how do we know where it came from and that it is the same thing as the original photograph?

So you need the professional who enlarged it to testify that this is the enlargement that accurately shows the original photograph.

And therefore they would have a right to have their own expert perform a similar analysis to confirm that it is correct.

And therefore they might be saying they did not have any advance notice to get such an expert.

Frankly you might be better off bringing a small, portable microscope or something similar into the courtroom and using the actual photograph already in evidence.

Then there would be no question that what people are seeing is the original photograph, as admitted into evidence.

Also, if the accuracy of the enlargement can be confirmed by viewing the photograph in evidence with a small microscope, then you can use the enlargement as a demonstrative exhibit.

However, if the prosecutor is making such a ridiculous objection, you probably need an attorney to help you unravel this nonsense.

I don't think there is any case law giving you the right to enlarge the photograph, because I don't think there is any basis for the prosecutor to object. It is the lack of any foundation for an objection that is the issue. (Except for the possibility of lack of notice or confirming that it is the same photograph.)

You also need to object to the photograph in evidence if it cannot be completely examined.