WASHINGTON (CNN)  -- Taken alone, a California woman's 20-minute video "scrapbook" is basically a collection of photographic memories spanning her 19-year-old daughter's all-too-brief life. Birthday parties, picnics, graduations -- all set to evocative music and narrated matter-of-factly by the mother. John Paul Stevens was one of three justices who wanted to grant further review of the defendant's case. What makes this video unusual is that it was presented at a California murder trial as "victim impact evidence." The Supreme Court on Monday gave an indirect endorsement to such videos when it rejected an appeal from a defendant who argued that the presentation violated his right to a fair trial.
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Case involved case of Sara Weir, stabbed to death in California
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Victim's mother, a lawyer, put together moving video scrapbook
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Defendant Douglas Oliver Kelly contended video was prejudicial
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Justices rejected Kelly's appeal, indirectly endorsing victim impact videos
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, in a brief statement, said Monday he would have accepted @placeholder's appeal of his sentence and held oral arguments on the issue.