What is the current state of the law on the destruction of evidence in a criminal case?

"[U]nless 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." (Youngblood, supra, 488 U.S. at p. 58.) Trombetta "does not apply when there is a nonmalicious loss or destruction of evidence in the possession of a third party that is not subject to control by the prosecution." (People v. Gopal (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 524, 542.) The negligent destruction or failure to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence, without evidence of bad faith, will not give rise to a due process violation. (Youngblood, at p. 58.)

The trial court's finding as to "whether evidence was destroyed in good faith or bad faith is essentially factual: therefore, the proper standard of review is substantial evidence." (People v. Memro (1995) 11 Cal.4th 786, 831.) We therefore view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's finding to determine if there was substantial evidence to support its ruling. (People v. Carter (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1215, 1246.)

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