STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
FRANK GARAFOLA, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The State sought certiorari to review a suppression order based on the failure to preserve breathalyzer test samples. The court held that the federal constitution does not require preservation of breath samples, and therefore reversed the suppression orders, adopting the standard from California v. Trombetta.
The failure to preserve breath samples does not constitute a violation of the Federal Constitution. The constitutional duty to preserve evidence is limited to evidence that might be expected to play a significant role in the suspect's defense and that possesses apparent exculpatory value and is not obtainable by other reasonably available means.
[1] The failure to preserve breathalyzer test samples does not violate the Federal Constitution.
[2] A constitutional duty to preserve evidence is limited to evidence that might be expected to play a significant role in the suspect's defense.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Whatever duty the Constitution imposes on the States to preserve evidence, that duty must be limited to evidence that might be expected to play a significant role in the suspect's defense.”
Establishes the constitutional standard for when evidence must be preserved—it must be material to the defense.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFrank Garafola was charged with driving under the influence. A breathalyzer test indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.10% or above. At the time of tes…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Preservation Of Evidence cases and more on FLexlaw
DELL, Judge.
The State petitions this court for a writ of common law certiorari to review an order of the circuit court acting in its review capacity. The circuit court affirmed an order of the county court suppressing breathalyzer test results. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.030(b)(2)(B) and 9.100.
The State charged Frank Garafola by information with driving while under the influence. The breathalyzer indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.10% or above. At the time the officers administered the test, respondent did not request that another breath test, urine or blood test be done; and the officers did not preserve an additional breath sample. Respondent moved to suppress the results of the breathalyzer test and alleged that the denial of an opportunity to examine a separate sample of breath constituted a denial of his right to a fair trial and a denial of due process. The county court granted respondent’s motion and ruled that:
[I]t was ... fundamentally unfair and violative of due process not to preserve an additional sample of defendant’s breath when available means to do so exist, are relatively inexpensive, and such a procedure should be followed.
Petitioner appealed to the circuit court which affirmed the order of the trial court. This petition for certiorari followed.
After the circuit court reviewed the trial court’s order suppressing the breathalyzer sample, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the failure to preserve breathalyzer test samples does not constitute a violation of the Federal Constitution.
Given our precedents in this area, we cannot agree with the California Court of Appeal that the State’s failure to retain breath samples for respondents constitutes a violation of the Federal Constitution. To begin with, California authorities in this case did not destroy respondents’ breath samples in a calculated effort to circumvent the disclosure requirements established by Brady v. Maryland and its progeny. In failing to preserve breath samples for respondents, the officers here were acting “in good faith and in accord with their normal practices.” Killian v. United States, supra [368 U.S. 231] at 242, 82 S.Ct. at 308 [7 L.Ed.2d 256 (1961)]. The record contains no allegation of official animus towards respondents or of a conscious effort to suppress exculpatory evidence.
More importantly, California’s policy of not preserving breath samples is without constitutional defect. Whatever duty the Constitution imposes on the States to preserve evidence, that duty must be limited to evidence that might be expected to play a significant role in the suspect’s defense. To meet this standard of constitutional materiality, see United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. at 109-110, 96 S.Ct. at 2400 [49 L.Ed.2d 342] evidence must both possess an exculpatory value that was apparent before the evidence was destroyed, and also be of such a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means.
California v. Trombetta, — U.S. —, 104 S.Ct. 2528, 2534, 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984) (footnote omitted). We join with the First District Court of Appeal in adopting the holding of California v. Trombetta. See State v. Plawchan, 453 So. 2d 496, (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).
Accordingly, we grant this petition for writ of certiorari and quash the orders of the circuit court and county court suppressing the evidence of the breathalyzer test results.
CERTIORARI GRANTED.
DOWNEY and HURLEY, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Powers, 555 So. 2d 888 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)…cused has sufficient opportunity to question the results of the tests, the state is not obligated to take affirmative steps to preserve a blood or breath sample. See Trombetta; Houser v. State, 474 So. 2d 1193 (Fla.1985). See also State v. Garafola, 459 So. 2d 1066 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); State v. Plawchan, 453 So. 2d 496 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). We turn now to the second test conducted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department, i.e., the field sobriety test. Applying the principles discussed herein, we find that…
Authorities Cited
- United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97 (U.S. 1976)
- California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479 (U.S. 1984)
- Killian v. United States, 368 U.S. 231 (U.S. 1961)
- State v. Plawchan, 453 So. 2d 496 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)