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People v. Eagen12/29/1994
The People appeal the trial court's dismissal of two of three criminal charges filed against defendant, Frederic W. Eagen, because the prosecution failed to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence. Defendant had been charged with vehicular homicide, manslaughter, and driving under the influence as a result of a one-car accident in which the passenger was killed. We vacate the judgment of dismissal and remand to the district court for further proceedings.
On July 22, 1992, defendant was driving an automobile owned by his employer , Centennial Motor Company. The vehicle left the road at a curve, rolled over, and ejected the passenger who received fatal injuries. At the scene, a Colorado state trooper discovered that defendant had been drinking alcoholic beverages. Although he was not seriously injured, defendant was taken to the hospital where blood alcohol tests were conducted. At some point, defendant told the state trooper that the deceased suddenly grabbed the steering wheel causing the accident.
Subsequently, the vehicle was impounded at Centennial Auto Recovery which is under the same ownership as Centennial Motor Company. In October 1992, the prosecution released the police hold on the vehicle, which was turned over to Centennial's insurance company. The car was sold and dismantled, effectively eliminating any chance for inspection.
Charges were filed against defendant in December 1992. He filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on destruction of evidence and pre-accusation delay. After a hearing, the trial court, relying upon People v. Sheppard, 701 P.2d 49 (Colo. 1985), concluded that evidence that could have been exculpatory had been destroyed, thus violating defendant's due process rights. The court dismissed the vehicular homicide and manslaughter charges as a sanction for the violation. Although there is some question as to whether an investigator hired by defendant attempted but was unable to arrange an inspection of the car prior to its release, the court specifically found that the State did not act in bad faith in releasing the vehicle.
I.
In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant's due process rights are violated when the state suppresses evidence requested by the defendant, if such evidence is material either to guilt or punishment, irrespective of the good or bad faith of the prosecution.
Colorado adopted the Brady rule in People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court, 656 P.2d 1287 (Colo. 1983). There, our supreme court created a three part-test from the Brady rule. In order to demonstrate that their due process rights had been violated, defendants had to show: (1) suppression of evidence by the prosecution after a request by the defense; (2) the evidence's favorable character for the defense; and (3) the materiality of the evidence. Further, to demonstrate the favorable character of the evidence for the defense, the defendant was required to establish "the reasonable possibility that the evidence could have been of assistance to the defense." Gallagher, supra, 656 P.2d at 1291. The defendant was not required to prove the exculpatory value of the evidence as long as the evidence was "not merely incidental to the prosecution's case or the [accused's] defense." Gallagher, supra, at 1290.
The U.S. Supreme Court revisited the issue in California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 104 S.Ct. 2528, 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984). There the California Court of Appeal had concluded that due process demanded that, when evidence is collected by the State, law enforcement agencies must
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