Principles of Forensic DNA
for Officers of the Court
Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court
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Module 11 :: Pretrial Issues

Topic 1 :: Discovery Issues Related to DNA Evidence

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Basic Discovery—The Duty to Preserve (cont.)

Youngblood remains the governing Federal law today. 4 However, several States have applied a different standard, under their respective constitutions or criminal discovery statutes, and do not require proof of bad faith when contesting the destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence. 5 In some States, the focus is on the duty to preserve material evidence; others look at whether the evidence that was destroyed might have been material and weigh its potential importance against the evidence used to convict.

 

 

 

 

Continued

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