Even the legitimate press sings the blues from time to time, including the Daily News. It’s Brooklyn court beat reporter, Oren Yaniv, who has gained a reputation around here as both a straight shooter and a guy whose stories can be trusted, was trying to cover a decade old case of Mario Metellus, accused of murdering his secret gay lover, Calvin Colbert, in 2002.  Newsworthy, right?

The case was being tried before Kings County Supreme Court Justice William Garnett, who admitted into evidence the dreaded photos of the victim.  These are the photos every defense lawyer hates, and fights tooth and nail to keep from the jury’s eyes.  They already know the victim is dead, so their introduction into evidence, ugly, nasty, horrible, serves only to inflame and prejudice the jury.  A terrible crime has been committed, and someone must pay.

And that’s exactly why Edward Purce, the prosecutor, offered them.  That’s why any prosecutor trying a murder case offers the photos of the body.  Despite defense counsel’s protestation, in they come, to shock and anger the jury.  Metellus’ lawyer, Glenn Morak, cried prejudice, but nobody was interested.  Who better to prejudice than the defendant.

But Yaniv, because accuracy matters, sought to get his hands on the photographs admitted into evidence, he hit a brick wall.  He made an oral request for admitted evidence, as reporters usually do when covering a trial, and got smacked.  He followed up the next day with a written request, and Justice Garnett rallied the lawyers for their positions.

According to