Inadmissible Evidence Exception In Utah

Under rule 403 of the Utah Rules of Evidence, the trial court should only "exclude relevant evidence if its 'probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury.'" State v. DeCorso, 1999 UT 57, P48, 993 P.2d 837 (quoting Utah R. Evid. 403). However, for certain types of evidence, including "gruesome photographs of a homicide victim's corpse," this balancing test is dropped in favor of a presumption of inadmissibility that can only be overcome by "a showing of unusual probative value." Id. (quoting State v. Lafferty, 749 P.2d 1239, 1256 (Utah 1988)).