[Download] "People v. Herve Riviere" by Supreme Court of New York " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Herve Riviere
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 31, 1991
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 62 KB
Description
DECISION & ORDER The defendant was arrested in a so-called "buy and bust" operation after he had allegedly sold two vials
of cocaine to an undercover police officer. When he was arrested, the defendant was found with $10 of prerecorded money, as
well as an additional $55 in United States currency on his person. We reject the defendant's contention that he was entitled to an adverse inference charge for the People's destruction of
the two vials as well as the envelopes in which they were placed. The determination of what is an appropriate sanction for
the destruction of discoverable evidence is committed to the trial court's sound discretion, and while the degree of prosecutorial
fault may be considered, the courts' attention should focus primarily on the overriding need to eliminate prejudice to the
defendant (see, People v Martinez, 71 N.Y.2d 937; People v Kelly, 62 N.Y.2d 516; People v Saddy, 84 A.D.2d 175). We conclude
that there was no prejudice to the defendant, and thus, the court properly exercised its discretion in not imposing a sanction.
The record clearly establishes that the destruction was inadvertant and the prosecutor did not act in bad faith. Additionally,
the defendant never requested the vials until the day of trial nor challenged that they did in fact contain cocaine. Thus,
his belated claim of prejudice is unpersuasive (see People v Allgood, 70 N.Y.2d 812; People v Deresky, 134 A.D.2d 512; People
v Henderson, 123 A.D.2d 883). Moreover, defense counsel had ample opportunity to cross-examine the People's witness, including
the laboratory technician who tested the contents of the vials, to challenge their contents as well as chain of custody.