State v. Hawkinson
Annotate this CaseDefendant was charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including driving a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. Defendant filed a request to preserve "blood tests," but subsequently, the State destroyed Defendant's blood sample used in a blood alcohol test in accordance with its retention policy. Defendant pleaded not guilty and successfully moved to suppress the results of his blood-alcohol test. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's suppression order, adopting a per se rule requiring suppression when the State destroys evidence after a defendant has made a demand to preserve the evidence. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the State did not violate any of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure when it destroyed Defendant's blood sample, and the district court erred in suppressing the results of the blood test.
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