Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Business Law

The answer would depend upon several variables not mentioned in your question, including whether the case is civil of criminal, in federal or state court, the intent of the person altering or destroying the decuments, and perhaps the relation of the person to the case and the parties. It also depends upon whether you are asking what happens to the evidence itself, or what happens to the person who did the alteration or destruction.

In a civil case in federal court, one possible consequence is exclusion of the evidence, on the basis that, once altered, it is neither original nor reliable. The judge can also allow the evidence to be produced to help discredit the party responsible for altering or destroying it.

In many instances, a presumption arises that the destroyed evidence would have been harmful to a party responsible, directly or indirectly, for its destruction. This is a rebuttable presumption and can be overcome by other, favorable evidence.

The court can also devise and impose various sanctions for spoliation of evidence. In some cases, evidence tampering can result in civil liability in tort against the tamperer or destroyer. Finally, I can imagine circumstances in which destruction of evidence could result in criminal charges being brought.