The following excerpt is from Stankewitz v. Mcdonald, 1:06-cv-01220-LJO-JLT HC (E.D. Cal. 2011):
However, to protect the courts from the "treacherous task of divining the import of materials whose contents are unknown, " unless a criminal defendant can show bad faith on the part of law enforcement, "failure to preserve potentially useful evidence does not constitute a denial of due process." Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 58, 109 S.Ct. 333 (1988). "Bad faith" consists of official animus towards [the accused] or a conscious effort to suppress exculpatory evidence."
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