## Facts

- Alfred Price sued Evansville School Corporation for the wrongful death of his 11-year-old son, Alfred Lee Price.
- The child attended a school-related baseball game at Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana, as a spectator.
- On May 27, 1960, the child was struck on the head by a baseball and died on May 29, 1960.
- The action was filed in the Vanderburgh Probate Court, and venue was later changed to the Warrick Circuit Court for jury trial.
- In the pleadings and at trial, the school corporation conceded that the child attended the game, was struck by a baseball, and died as a result.
- Price offered a color photograph (Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 5) showing the child lying in his casket after mortuary preparation and before burial.
- The photograph showed the white satin interior of the casket and the portion of the body typically visible at viewing; the child was dressed in a white sport coat and a blue shirt open at the neck, and his face appeared tanned.
- The photograph was not gruesome and did not depict wounds, defects, or other bodily abnormalities.
- The school corporation objected that the photograph related to no material issue because death and causation were admitted, and that its primary effect would be to arouse sympathy and prejudice the jury.
- Price argued the photograph supported testimony that the child had been healthy and “nice looking” before the incident and also supported proof that funeral expenses were incurred and that the child was properly buried.
- The trial court admitted the photograph over objection.
- The jury returned a verdict for Price and awarded $14,500 in damages; judgment was entered on the verdict.
- The trial court denied the school corporation’s motion for new trial, and the school corporation appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting a color photograph of the deceased child in his casket when the fact and cause of death were admitted and the photograph had little probative value but a strong tendency to stir sympathy and prejudice.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of Indiana reversed the judgment.
- The court held the trial court abused its discretion by admitting the casket photograph because it was not tied to a material issue actually in dispute and carried a substantial risk of unfair prejudice.
- The case was remanded with instructions to grant a new trial.

## Legal Principles

- Photographs are admissible only if they are relevant to a material issue and tend to prove or disprove a fact that matters in the case.
- When the fact and cause of death are conceded, evidence offered mainly to prove death or causation may be immaterial.
- Even a non-gruesome post-mortem or casket photograph may be excluded if its probative value is slight and the likely effect is an emotional appeal to the jury.
- The trial court has discretion over evidentiary rulings, but admitting evidence with minimal probative worth and a high risk of unfair prejudice can be reversible error.
- Evidence that is cumulative of other, unchallenged proof on the same point may be excluded when it adds little while increasing the danger of unfair prejudice.

## Conclusion

Because the school corporation admitted that the child was struck by a baseball and died from that injury, the color photograph of the child in his casket did not help resolve any material dispute; instead, it mainly invited sympathy in a wrongful-death case involving a minor. Given its minimal value and substantial risk of unfair prejudice—especially where other evidence addressed health, appearance, and funeral matters—the appellate court ruled that admitting the photograph was an abuse of discretion, reversed the judgment, and ordered a new trial.


Evansville School Corp. v. Price, 208 N.E.2d 689 (1965)