Opinion ID: 2608558
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the fingerprints

Text: Appellant suggests that he was prejudiced by the state's failure to remove fingerprints from the plastic bag which contained the cocaine. Appellant did not request that such a test be performed prior to trial, nor does he now claim that he did not know of the existence of the plastic bag or of the testimony of occupants of the house where it was found which linked him with it. Appellant's sole contention is that examination of the plastic bag may have failed to reveal his fingerprints thereon. Without a more substantial showing that the state should reasonably have believed that a test of the bag would have revealed such exculpatory evidence, or that the defense requested that the bag in fact be tested, the failure of the state to test did not violate appellant's right to due process. United States v. Henson, 486 F.2d 1292 (D.C. Cir.1973) (en banc); White v. State, 577 P.2d 1056 (Alaska 1978).