Opinion ID: 1145036
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Destruction of the Evidence

Text: The district attorney argues that there should be no suppression of evidence regarding the fingertip unless there was a bad faith destruction of it. There has been no such restriction placed upon the applicability of the test, and we see no reason to adopt one. The purposes for imposition of sanctions when evidence has been lost or destroyed are two-fold: the defendant must not be so prejudiced by the loss of evidence that the truth-finding process is irreparably harmed, People v. Roblas, 193 Colo. 496, 568 P.2d 57 (1977), and the sanctions serve to deter the prosecutor and the police from destroying material evidence. See generally Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 96 S.Ct. 3037, 49 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1976); La Fave, Search and Seizure, § 1.1(f). In this case, the trial court found that disposal of the fingertip was the result of gross negligence and misfeasance. We consider imposition of sanctions to deter police from such conduct to be appropriate.