Illinois V. Fisher

The Appellate Court of Illinois held here that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause required the dismissal of criminal charges because the police, acting in good faith and according to normal police procedures, destroyed evidence that respondent had requested more than 10 years earlier in a discovery motion. Petitioner, the State of Illinois, contends that such a result is foreclosed by our decision in Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U. S. 51 (1988). There we held that "unless a criminal defendant can show bad faith on the part of the police, failure to preserve potentially useful evidence does not constitute a denial of due process of law." Id., at 58. We agree with petitioner, grant the petition for certiorari, and reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court.