Mark Carr turns his lens on photographic evidence while emphasising the importance of choosing professional forensic photographers


How many times have you been to the cinema to see the film of a favourite book, only to be disappointed because your imagined version of the story did not fit the director's interpretation?


Likewise, good legal photography can help clarify issues of fact and, if witnesses can make reference to a photograph while giving evidence, it can make it easier for the court to hear the case. Professionally prepared images not only convey considerable information to a court in an easy-to-understand way, they can also help contextualise the entire case.


Even more important, they limit opportunities for individual jury members to use their imagination. The saying that a 'picture paints a thousand words' has never been more correct than in this area.


Most criminal cases contain issues that relate directly to the physical characteristics of the crime scene. These include the position and line of sight of witnesses, lighting, ground conditions, and proximity of other people or buildings, routes being taken by people, position of CCTV, or the extent of an injury or scar.


Every criminal law solicitor who has referred to the 'Turnbull guidelines' knows how hard it is when dealing with an issue of identification, or trying to obtain answers to questions about the distance and quality of lighting, or the distance the witness was from the scene. Photographs can clarify issues from the start of such cross-examination.


Many busy solicitors have either rushed out themselves or sent a clerk to the crime scene to snap some quick photographs that are then colour photocopied and stuck in the file only to be 'served' on the day of the hearing, hoping they are agreed.


Others have approached a local wedding photographer to take some pictures of a particularly dangerous road junction and then regretted the decision because the photographer did not appreciate the need to have the photographs taken from the perspective of the driver. Worse still, the lawyer forgot the law of copyright so the photographer threatens to sue when he discovers his photographs have been reproduced without his permission.


The common problem with not using someone experienced in preparing photographic evidence for court is there is often a misunderstanding between the instructing solicitor and the photographer. In commercial photography, the photographer often receives a tight brief specifying the needs of the client. In many cases photographers may be instructed somewhat late and simply lack the knowledge to carry out the work required.


The important aspect is to record accurately the subject matter. A camera does not see light as well as the human eye and this can cause wrongly exposed pictures to give the impression of a scene being lit differently. The choice of lens is also important, since the field of view varies between lenses, which can wrongly exaggerate or distort a relative feature in the scene and alter the special relationship of parts of the picture.


One example where photographs assisted a case involved an allegation of assault and damage where a defendant had been approached in his car late at night by plain-clothed police officers. The client stated he had not realised they were police officers and was frightened they were going to mug him. The photographs revealed the area where the client was at the time to be an unlit single track with waste ground to one side that was used regularly by prostitutes. The visual evidence gave weight to the defendant's belief that he might be the target of a mugger.


In another case, an assault had taken place in a nightclub. A number of witnesses had given statements as to what had been seen. The defendant disputed the line of sight that witnesses had into the area of the reception desk. Photographs of the club, taken with the lighting as it was at the time, showed not only the position and layout of the area but the quality of light available.


Photographic reconstruction as opposed to simple photographs of the scene can be tremendously valuable. This is not 'restaging the case', which would never be appropriate for a courtroom, but goes beyond routine photographs of the scene so that weather, lighting and the time of day are replicated in the photograph, as near as possible. This goes directly to improving the quality of the photographic evidence so the jury is not misled. It goes without saying that a scene correctly photographed at night gives a better impression of the quality of street lighting than one just taken in the afternoon that only shows the relative position of lights.


Legal profession specialist photographers are like any other experts. They need to be selected and approved under the terms of the solicitors' franchise as if they were a doctor or surveyor. Equally, their skills and professional integrity should be preserved like that of other professions. Photographs not taken at the time of the crime itself are opinion evidence since inevitably there is an element of interpretation relating to the relevant importance of different images taken.


As such, professional photographers ensure a well-balanced portfolio of images is presented to the court to represent a true likeness of the scene. On this basis alone, solicitors should instruct an independent photographer. After all, they would not prepare their own medical reports.


The British Institute of Professional Photographers has a specific group for those who specialise in forensic photography. The organisation aims to make sure that photographers abide by professional standards and understand how their work can influence the course of justice.


Professional forensic photography can help jury members decide the facts by showing them clear, unbiased images that can help them reach a decision. They reduce areas of ambiguity that can lead to a miscarriage of justice.


Photographers should be chosen carefully. They should be bound by the same professional rules as apply to lawyers in dealing with the parties in the case and in handling the evidence. They should present their statements and photographs in a clear and professional manner, properly bound and identified with the appropriate statements.


On this basis, a photographer should always be considered as part of the team used to present the case to the jury.



Solicitor Mark Carr was a partner in north-west law firm Stephensons. In 2003, he established a business providing forensic photography services to solicitors in private practice