Opinion ID: 702508
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Did the court err by admitting photographs of lost evidence?

Text: 86 Garza complains that the court should not have admitted a photograph of the interior of Gilberto Matos' car, which showed a set of keys and two pairs of gloves that the government lost before trial. This photo bolstered Israel Flores' testimony that he and Manuel Flores wore gloves when they murdered Matos and that they left the gloves in Matos' car. It also supported the investigating officer's testimony that they found gloves in the car at the crime scene. The district court admitted the photo as an accurate representation of what the investigator saw when he looked inside Matos' car. 24 The government properly authenticated the photo and the court did not err by admitting it. Fed.R.Evid. 901(a); United States v. Mojica, 746 F.2d 242, 245 (5th Cir.1984). 87 Garza next argues that, by losing the gloves and keys, the government violated its duty to preserve evidence that might have exculpated him. However, Garza does nothing more than state generally that the lost keys and gloves might have helped him and never even theorizes as to how they would have assisted him. Under Fifth Circuit precedent, such unfocused speculation is not enough and this argument must fail. United States v. Binker, 795 F.2d 1218, 1230 (5th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1085, 107 S.Ct. 1287, 94 L.Ed.2d 144 (1987) (evidence must possess exculpatory value that is apparent before its loss). 88