Leveling The Playing Field With The Jury Inference

It has proven difficult to deal with lost or destroyed evidence when the responsible party was under no legal obligation to preserve it. There isn't much of a clear legal precedent for dealing with the loss or destruction of evidence, and sometimes the risk is attributed to the party requesting the evidence rather than the party who once possessed it.

However, the Supreme Court of Florida has moved to level the playing field with a revised standard jury instruction, allowing the jury to infer that the missing evidence may be unfavorable to the party who lost or destroyed the evidence.

READ: Leveling The Playing Field With The Jury Inference