State v. Bruce

780 A.2d 1270, 147 N.H. 37, 2001 N.H. LEXIS 165
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedSeptember 28, 2001
DocketNo. 99-639
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 780 A.2d 1270 (State v. Bruce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bruce, 780 A.2d 1270, 147 N.H. 37, 2001 N.H. LEXIS 165 (N.H. 2001).

Opinion

DUGGAN, J.

The defendant, David Bruce, was indicted for felony criminal mischief for purposely causing over $1,000 worth of damage to the [39]*39automobile of William Douglass. See RSA 634:2 (1997). After a jury trial in Superior Court (Coffey, J.), he was convicted of misdemeanor criminal mischief.

On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in: (1) not dismissing the charges when it was revealed during the trial that certain photographs of the damaged car had not been turned over to the defense; (2) instructing the jury as to lesser-included offenses; (3) convicting him of a class A, instead of a class B, misdemeanor; and (4) rejecting his argument that the criminal mischief statute is unconstitutionally vague. We affirm.

The following facts were adduced at trial. On December 2,1998, at 8:30 a.m., William Douglass drove his youngest child to school. Realizing he had left his briefcase at home, Douglass returned home to retrieve it. There, he found an 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck blocking the entrance to his driveway. The truck had been parked there by a paving crew that was working in the neighborhood. Douglass parked his car directly in front of the tractor-trailer truck and entered his house. He was in the house for about ten minutes getting his briefcase and taking an unexpected phone call.

While Douglass was in the house, the defendant, who was in charge of the work crew, told the driver of the tractor-trailer to move the truck. The driver of the truck informed the defendant that Douglass’ car was blocking the truck. The defendant became quite upset, “flailing his arms ... getting quite red in the face and ... swearing.” He then got into a front-end loader and drove it to the back of Douglass’ car. There, the defendant used heavy chains to connect the bucket of the loader to the tie rods of Douglass’ car. The defendant then used the front-end loader to lift the back of Douglass’ car and pull it about eighty feet along the road.

When Douglass emerged from his house, he noticed that his car had been moved and asked the defendant who had moved it. The defendant informed Douglass that he had moved it and directed a few other “choice words” at Douglass. At trial, the State presented evidence that repairing Douglass’ car would cost over $1,500.

The first issue raised by the defendant is whether the loss of certain photographs requires dismissal of the indictment. The issue arose when it came to light during trial that eight photographs of the damage to Douglass’ car taken by the Auburn Police could not be located. The defendant claims that the loss of this evidence deprived him of exculpatory evidence in violation of the Due Process Clauses of the State and Federal Constitutions.

[40]*40The State argues that the due process issue was not raised by the defendant below, and therefore was not preserved for appeal. We disagree. The record shows that the defendant specifically argued that exculpatory evidence had been lost and stated that this loss violated his “right to a fair trial.” While it is true that defense counsel did not use the term “due process,” the fact that counsel specifically used the term “exculpatory evidence” and invoked the right to a fair trial was sufficient to alert the trial judge to the legal basis for his argument. Thus, the issue was adequately preserved for appeal. See State v. Goding, 128 N.H. 267, 270 (1986).

When a defendant asserts the protection of the Due Process Clauses of both the New Hampshire and the United States Constitutions, we first examine the State claim. State v. Ball, 124 N.H. 226, 282 (1983). Because the Federal Constitution offers no more protection than our State Constitution, we need not conduct a separate federal analysis. State v. Giordano, 138 N.H. 90, 96 (1993).

In determining whether the loss of apparently relevant evidence has resulted in a denial of due process,

the State has the burden to demonstrate that it acted both with good faith, in the sense that it was free of any intent to prejudice the defendant, and without culpable negligence. If the State carries that burden, the defendant may not claim any relief unless he demonstrates that the lost evidence was material, to the degree that its introduction would probably have led to a verdict of not guilty, and that its loss prejudiced him by precluding the introduction of evidence that would probably have led to a verdict in his favor.

Id. at 94 (quotation omitted).

As part of pre-trial discovery, the defense obtained police photos of the damaged car and other vehicles at the scene as well as insurance company photos of the car. On the morning of trial the prosecutor learned that there were other photos taken by the police that were not part of the discovery. The Auburn Police Department tried unsuccessfully to locate the photos. After fully exploring the matter, the trial court concluded that the photos had been misfiled. The record supports the trial court’s finding. The trial court also found that the actions of the police were not “maliciously motivated.” This is essentially a finding that the police acted in good faith, cf. Catalano v. Town of Windham, 133 N.H. 504, 508 (1990) [41]*41and rebuts any suggestion that the State acted with the intent to prejudice the defendant. In addition, the unexplained loss by the police of photographs may constitute negligence but, without more, does not amount to culpable negligence. See Giordano, 138 N.H. at 95 (“Culpable negligence is something more than ordinary negligence, mere neglect, or the failure to use ordinary care — it is negligence that is censorious, faulty or blamable.”); see also State v. Baillargeon, 127 N.H. 782, 784 (1986) (unexplained loss of CAT scan report does not rise to the level of culpable negligence).

Because the State has carried its initial burden, to prevail the defendant must prove that the loss of evidence prejudiced him and that the evidence was material in proving his innocence. State v. Smagula, 133 N.H. 600, 603 (1990). The defendant has failed to demonstrate that the loss of the photographs prejudiced his ease. His argument that the misplaced photographs would show that the damage to Douglass’ car consisted only of scratches incidental to the tow is unpersuasive in light of the contradictory evidence presented at trial.

“The crucial point in evaluating the prejudice suffered by a defendant is whether the loss of the physical evidence eliminates whatever exculpatory value this evidence might have had.” Giordano, 138 N.H. at 95. In Giordano, we concluded that the State’s misplacement of twelve photographs did not prejudice the defendant, as other evidence provided the same facts that the photographs would have supplied. See id. at 95-96. In the present matter, the State also offered ample evidence from which the jury could have assessed the damage to the vehicle absent the misplaced photographs. Mr. Douglass, the investigating officer and an auto body estimator each testified as to the damage to the vehicle. This testimony, along with the repair invoice introduced at trial, which included charges for certain repairs that might not be evident in the photographs, obviated any prejudice to the defendant. As we noted in Giordano, “[m]ore than mere speculation as to the exculpatory value or the prejudice caused by the loss of evidence is necessary to constitute a due process violation.” Id. at 96.

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Bluebook (online)
780 A.2d 1270, 147 N.H. 37, 2001 N.H. LEXIS 165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bruce-nh-2001.