Arizona v. Youngblood
Encyclopedia
Arizona v. Youngblood, , was an important United States Supreme Court
case about the limits of Constitutional due process
under criminal law
.
Next, the case developed as follows:
The defendant claimed that the state disposed of potentially exculpatory evidence by not properly preserving the evidence.
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case about the limits of Constitutional due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
under criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
.
Background
A boy was molested and sodomized. The rape kit was preserved in a refrigerator, but the boys clothes (containing samples of the assailant's semen) were not preserved in a refrigeration unit. At a later date, criminologists were unable to do testing on the clothing because it had deteriorated as a result of not being refrigerated. The boy picked the defendant out of a photo lineup as his assailant.Next, the case developed as follows:
The defendant claimed that the state disposed of potentially exculpatory evidence by not properly preserving the evidence.
Opinion of the Court
The Supreme Court held that there was no constitutional violation in this case. In the Court's holding, the Court stated: “[w]e therefore hold that unless 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.” The court relied on United States v. Marion, , United States v. Lovasco, , and other cases for its reasoning.Subsequent developments
In 2000, on request from Youngblood's attorneys, the police department tested the degraded evidence using new, sophisticated DNA technology. Those results exonerated Youngblood, and he was released from prison in August 2000, and charges were dismissed.See also
- Miranda v. ArizonaMiranda v. ArizonaMiranda v. Arizona, , was a landmark 5–4 decision of the United States Supreme Court. The Court held that both inculpatory and exculpatory statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible at trial only if the prosecution can show that the defendant...
- Due Process Clause
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 488
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
- List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court