Opinion ID: 2184797
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Failure to Document Defendant's Condition During Interrogation by Police

Text: Defendant next contends that his right to due process was violated because the police failed to preserve evidence bearing on his physical and mental condition at the time he made incriminating statements to the authorities. Defendant argues that in view of his physical appearance and statements he made to police regarding recent drug use and lack of sleep, the police were obligated to create an objective record of his condition. According to defendant, the officers should have conducted or arranged blood or breath testing to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol, and should have videotaped defendant's conversations. Defendant maintains that such evidence would have assisted the defense in proving that defendant was unable to knowingly and intelligently waive his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). In California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 488-89, 104 S.Ct. 2528, 2534, 81 L.Ed.2d 413, 422 (1984), relied on by defendant, the United States Supreme Court stated: Whatever duty the Constitution imposes on the States to preserve evidence, that duty must be limited to evidence that might be expected to play a significant role in the suspect's defense. To meet this standard of constitutional materiality [citation], evidence must both possess an exculpatory value that was apparent before the evidence was destroyed, and be of such a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means. Trombetta held that when police conduct breath tests to determine the blood-alcohol level of a motorist suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol, due process does not require preservation of the motorist's breath sample for use by the defense in verifying the accuracy of the breath test. Based on evidence showing that the breath-analysis equipment was highly accurate, the Court reasoned that the chances were extremely low that a preserved breath sample would be exculpatory, and a malfunction in the breath-analysis equipment could be demonstrated in other ways. Subsequently, in Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 58, 109 S.Ct. 333, 337, 102 L.Ed.2d 281, 289 (1988), the Court held that unless a criminal defendant can show bad faith on the part of the police, failure to preserve potentially useful evidence does not constitute a denial of due process. In so holding, the Court distinguished the failure to preserve evidence from the failure to disclose material exculpatory evidence in the State's possession where the good or bad faith of the State is irrelevant. Youngblood, 488 U.S. at 57,109 S.Ct. at 337, 102 L.Ed.2d at 289. The Youngblood Court also explained that [t]he presence or absence of bad faith by the police for purposes of the Due Process Clause must necessarily turn on the police's knowledge of the exculpatory value of the evidence at the time it was lost or destroyed. Youngblood, 488 U.S. at 56 n. , 109 S.Ct. at 336 n. , 102 L.Ed.2d at 288 n. . Applying these principles from Trombetta and Youngblood, we conclude that defendant's claim is meritless. The record reveals that at the time defendant spoke with police, he informed them that he had used cocaine a few hours earlier. Defendant also related either that he had not slept in two days or that he had not slept the previous night. Nonetheless, at the hearing on defendant's motion to suppress his statements, the police officers who observed defendant and the assistant State's Attorney who interviewed him each testified that defendant did not appear to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. The assistant State's Attorney specifically testified that although defendant's eyes appeared bloodshot, his walking was fine and his speech was fine. In view of this testimony, defendant cannot show that it was apparent that videotaping defendant's demeanor or conducting drug and alcohol testing would have produced exculpatory evidence. Likewise, defendant cannot show that the authorities acted in bad faith in failing to take these steps. Cf. United States v. Weise, 89 F.3d 502, 504 (8th Cir.1996) (failure by police to administer blood-alcohol test to defendant convicted of second degree murder did not violate due process where police officers testified that defendant appeared to be in control of his thoughts and actions at the time of his arrest). Defendant alternatively argues that even if the failure to preserve evidence of his condition did not violate the United States Constitution under Trombetta, this court is free to hold that failure violative of the due process clause of our state constitution. Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 2. Defendant relies on Gundersen v. Municipality of Anchorage, 792 P.2d 673 (Alaska 1990), where, notwithstanding Trombetta, the Supreme Court of Alaska held that in a prosecution for driving while intoxicated, the failure to preserve breath samples for independent testing violated the due process clause of Alaska's constitution. We decline to apply Gundersen in the present setting and instead adhere to the well-reasoned principles set forth in Trombetta and Youngblood for purposes of our state due process clause.