What is the limitation on follow-up investigations of crime scene evidence?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Youngblood v. Gates, 200 Cal.App.3d 1302, 246 Cal.Rptr. 775 (Cal. App. 1988):

I must also voice my disagreement with the majority's approval of the trial court's prohibition against any delay for "[s]cientific and laboratory work, not necessary to determine the charge against the defendant." The results of such investigation may be of vital importance to the prosecutor in making an informed filing decision. In some cases, for example, analysis of blood or semen samples, paint, or shoe or tire markings might exculpate a suspect. There is also no support in the applicable statutes or the cases interpreting them for the trial court's creation of a one-day limitation on follow-up investigations of any type. Determination of the permissible length of such delay must be based on the particular facts of each case. ( Stanley v. Justice Court, supra, 55 Cal.App.3d 244, 250, 127 Cal.Rptr. 532.) The only maximum limit applicable in all cases is the two-day provision embodied in section 825.

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