ALBANY – The state’s high court yesterday told judges to give juries an adverse inference charge whenever the police or the prosecution lose or destroy evidence that is "reasonably likely" to be of material importance to the defense in a criminal case.
Judge Robert Smith (See Profile) said that the Court of Appeals’ directive "gives the state an incentive to avoid the destruction of evidence" without greatly increasing the risk that a good-faith error will result in the acquittal of a guilty defendant.
