Destroyed video of field sobriety tests
The Alaska Court of Appeals has ruled that the “loss or destruction of evidence” instruction regarding a destroyed video of the FSTs and breath test still left the jury enough to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Cite: Bradley v Alaska, Alaska Court of Appeals No. A-9877, Issued November 28, 2008
Quote from the opinion:
Bradley claims that based on the "loss or destruction of evidence" jury instruction, there was insufficient evidence supporting the DUI verdict. That is, he contends that had the members of the jury followed this instruction and presumed that the lost or destroyed evidence was favorable to Bradley, they could not have found him guilty of driving while under the influence. But in this case, the jury could disregard the evidence surrounding the field sobriety tests and the DataMaster processing and still convict Bradley of driving while under the influence.
My Comments: A curative jury instruction, by its nature, gives the jury a chance to consider whatever the issue is. This ruling makes sense.
