Opinion ID: 2074934
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to preserve blood sample.

Text: Pinela claims the State's failure to preserve the blood sample from Morales was a violation of his constitutional right to due process of law because he was unable to present a complete defense without the blood sample. Pinela's defense was that Morales was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Pinela argues that if the blood sample had been preserved, it could have been matched to blood found on the driver's side of the vehicle, and such evidence would show that Morales was in fact driving the vehicle. The United States Supreme Court recently addressed a state's obligation under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to preserve evidentiary material. Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 109 S.Ct. 333, 102 L.Ed.2d 281 (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 of law. Id., 488 U.S. at ___, 109 S.Ct. at 337, 102 L.Ed.2d at 289. Under the facts of this case, Youngblood is controlling. The record contains no evidence of bad faith on the part of law enforcement personnel. The loss of the blood sample by the deputy sheriff can at worst be described as negligent. The blood sample had little or no exculpatory value and would not have altered the ultimate verdict of the jury. State v. Boykin, 432 N.W.2d 60, 67 (S.D.1988). Even if the blood sample had been preserved and was matched to the blood found on the driver's side of the vehicle, Pinela's defense would not necessarily benefit. Testimony at trial established that an unrestrained body may be tossed about extensively in an automobile accident. As a result, it would not be unusual for someone riding in the passenger side of a vehicle to leave blood on the driver's side after an accident. Therefore, the evidence would not necessarily help Pinela establish that he was not driving the vehicle, especially since there was testimony by others that he was driving. []