Opinion ID: 442029
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Destruction of Exculpatory Evidence Claim

Text: 16 Tyler next argues that Harper and McConnell violated his constitutional rights by destroying exculpatory evidence: two cassette tapes which he alleges contained a statement by the rape victim that she had misidentified Tyler as her assailant. Harper and McConnell argue that this claim was also fully litigated and resolved against Tyler in the criminal proceeding. 17 On May 10, 1977, shortly before his trial commenced, Tyler moved to dismiss the prosecution on the ground that state law enforcement officers had stolen cassette tapes from him. Judge Kinder held a hearing on this motion on May 26, 1977, and the following day he issued an order requiring F. Metcalfe, a deputy at the St. Louis City jail where Tyler had been detained after his arrest, to deliver two cassette tapes to Tyler. What happened to the tapes after this date is unclear. Tyler alleges that on May 31, 1977, Metcalfe brought the tapes to the Platte County jail where he was confined at the time and that Harper and McConnell intercepted them, erased the rape victim's statement, and then returned them to Tyler. Harper and McConnell deny this allegation. 18 On June 1, 1977, Tyler appeared before Judge Kinder and informed him that the tapes had been erased. Tyler further stated that the tapes were important because they contained conversations between himself and his lawyer in which he outlined his trial strategy. Judge Kinder responded that he did not know what relevance the tapes had to Tyler's case and that he had done all he could to get them produced. Later, in his motion for a new trial which was denied, Tyler argued that he should have been granted a new trial because the state prosecutor (Harper) and his investigator (McConnell) erased the tapes which contained important conversations, and thus, denied his 1st, 5th, 6th, and 14th amendment rights. 19 On appeal Tyler again argued that the erasure of the tapes violated his constitutional rights and required a reversal of his conviction. In rejecting this claim the Missouri Court of Appeals stated that [n]owhere does defendant undertake to show what was on the tapes or how they would have aided his cause. Tyler, 587 S.W.2d at 933. 20 When Tyler filed this action he alleged, for the first time, that the tapes contained a statement by the rape victim that she misidentified him. To support this claim Tyler offered an affidavit of a convict who alleged that in 1977 at Tyler's request he telephoned the rape victim and, while impersonating a police officer, obtained an admission that she misidentified Tyler. He further alleged that Tyler was present during the taping of the conversation and that he gave Tyler the tape after it was recorded. 21 We agree with the district court that Tyler's presentation of this additional evidence concerning the content of the tapes does not make the doctrine of collateral estoppel inapplicable in this case. Collateral estoppel is no defense when the controlling facts have changed in between the first and second suits. E.g., Commissioner v. Sunnen, 333 U.S. 591, 599-602, 68 S.Ct. 715, 720-721, 92 L.Ed. 898 (1948). The controlling facts surrounding the destruction of evidence claim, however, have not changed. If the newly offered affidavit is to be believed, Tyler knew before his trial began that the tapes contained the rape victim's statement. He had two opportunities to inform Judge Kinder and one opportunity to inform the Missouri Court of Appeals about the statement. He failed to do this. 22 Applying the Missouri standard for collateral estoppel, see Oates, 583 S.W.2d at 719, we conclude that a Missouri court would bar Tyler from relitigating the destruction of evidence claim. The Missouri Court of Appeals examined the same legal issue that Tyler now presents in this section 1983 action: whether Harper and McConnell violated his constitutional rights by erasing the tapes. Tyler had a full and fair opportunity to litigate this claim in the state trial court and court of appeals. The record shows that he vigorously argued the claim in the criminal proceeding. Although the state trial court may not have resolved the factual issue of whether Harper and McConnell actually erased the tapes, the Missouri Court of Appeals decided that Tyler failed to prove a constitutional violation because he did not show that the tapes contained exculpatory evidence. 23 There is no disagreement as to the fact that Tyler had a full and fair opportunity in the state court proceeding to prove that the erasure of the tape constituted a violation of his constitutional rights. That court found no violation. We conclude that the district court correctly gave full faith and credit to that decision. See Migra, 104 S.Ct. at 898. 24