Opinion ID: 889354
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: issues

Text: ¶ 79 Whether Gunderson was entitled to a jury instruction on missing evidence. ¶ 80 Gunderson contends that he was entitled to a jury instruction on missing evidence as a matter of due process because the police failed to make reasonable efforts to conduct a rape examination or to collect other physical evidence such as Randall's bedding. Gunderson argues that this Court should reject the rule set forth in State v. Swanson, 222 Mont. 357, 360-62, 722 P.2d 1155, 1157-58 (1986), that police officers have no duty to procure evidence on behalf of a defendant, as well as the standard set forth in Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 109 S.Ct. 333, 102 L.Ed.2d 281 (1988), that a defendant must show bad faith to prove a due process violation when lost evidence is only potentially exculpatory. ¶ 81 The State contends that we should decline to consider Gunderson's arguments on this issue because Gunderson has changed his theory on appeal regarding why the court should have given the instruction. The State points out that Gunderson argued in the District Court that the police had a duty to collect Randall's bedding and to insist that she go to the hospital and undergo a rape examination. However, Gunderson now argues on appeal that his proposed instruction should have been given because the police failed to seize Randall's underwear or swab her neck for Gunderson's DNA.