Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida
spoliation
I am involved in a criminal
proceeding in which I have filed a
notice to preserve evidence to a
business for a video of the incident
and employee logs. None of which
were turned over. I am asking
whether filing a motion of spoliation
of evidence against the state would
be justified; considering that they
have the responsibility to provide
evidence and investigate the matter
fully.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: spoliation
You should speak with an attorney about representing you. The State is required to preserve any evidence it collects, but it is not required to investigate in any particular manner, or to gather any particular evidence. The primary requirement is that they preserve and disclose any evidence that it actually collects. With video tapes made by alleged victims, the issue is whether the evidence was ever in the State's possession. You need to find out if law enforcement ever took possession of the tape. If they did, and then gave it back to the victim, you may have a discovery violation.
Get an attorney. Discovery rules are very technical and it is not a good idea to try to defend yourselve based on technicalities if you don't have legal experience.
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