Trombetta Motion Under California Law
To uphold your right to a fair trial when facing accusations, law enforcement and prosecutors are required to preserve all case-related evidence, including material that might support your innocence.
If this evidence is damaged or lost, it can impair your ability to defend yourself and might violate your Constitutional right to due process.
When this occurs, your attorney might submit a Trombetta Motion (also known as a Trombetta-Youngblood Motion or T-Motion) requesting the court to dismiss the case or lower the charges.
Essentially, a Trombetta motion is a legal filing made by a criminal defense lawyer when relevant or potentially advantageous evidence collected in the case has been destroyed or mishandled by the police or prosecutor.
This motion asks for dismissal of the case or lesser charges because evidence helpful to the defendant was tampered with or destroyed (spoilage of evidence).
A Trombetta motion can be filed in all criminal cases to challenge misdemeanor, felony, or wobbler charges.
Once filed, a judge will grant the motion after considering whether the evidence favored the defendant and whether law enforcement or prosecutors misbehaved. Our California criminal defense lawyers will review this topic further below.
Key Takeaways
- The Trombetta Motion gets its name from the landmark 1984 case, California v. Trombetta (467 U.S. 479), where the U.S. Supreme Court set guidelines for evidence preservation by the prosecution.
- The Court ruled that the destruction or loss of evidence by the government can violate a defendant's right to due process if the evidence was both material and potentially exculpatory.
- In California, the Trombetta Motion is a pretrial motion filed by the defense to dismiss charges due to the prosecution's failure to preserve material and potentially exculpatory evidence.
- This motion is grounded in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which ensures fair treatment for defendants in criminal cases.
- If the court determines that the prosecution infringed upon a defendant's due process rights, possible remedies include suppressing evidence, ordering a new trial, or dismissing the charges altogether.
What Criteria Does the Judge Consider?
When deciding whether to approve a Trombetta Motion, the judge will consider two main factors in turn, as explained below.
Assessing whether the evidence is material and exculpatory.
The judge initially determines whether the lost or destroyed evidence is relevant and could potentially be helpful or exonerating. Relevant evidence is that which significantly influences the case's outcome.
In essence, the evidence must be substantial enough that its absence might impact the defendant's capacity to present a strong defense.
Favorable evidence is that which may assist the defendant's defense, whereas exculpatory evidence definitively demonstrates the defendant's innocence or lessens their blame.
Assessing malicious intent and bias
Next, the judge will consider whether the police or prosecution acted in bad faith by intentionally destroying or failing to preserve evidence, and whether the defendant was prejudiced by this loss, which would have significantly harmed their ability to mount a proper defense.
Note that accidental destruction of evidence does not constitute bad faith or negligent handling. The evidence must have been intentionally compromised.
When considering these factors, the judge may approve the Trombetta Motion based on either one or both. If both apply — meaning the evidence was potentially exculpatory, and police acted in bad faith — the judge is likely to grant the motion.
However, the judge might also approve the motion solely because of the strength of the evidence, even if it was accidentally destroyed, if the judge believes that their absence affects the defendant's right to due process or a fair trial.
What Are the Consequences if the Judge Approves the T-Motion?
If the Trombetta Motion is approved, the judge usually takes one of three actions, based on the importance of the evidence to the case:
- Suppress evidence: The court has the authority to exclude the affected evidence from being introduced or considered during the trial, along with any related evidence that was not destroyed. This can weaken the prosecution's case and may give the defendant an advantage.
- Reduced charges: For instance, if the evidence pertains to a felony, the judge might lower the charge to a misdemeanor, or reduce a misdemeanor to an infraction.
- Dismiss charges: In certain situations, the judge might completely dismiss the charges against the defendant if their due process rights are violated, often due to the loss or destruction of evidence that could potentially prove innocence.
If you or a family member has been charged with a crime in California and suspects that favorable evidence was tampered with, contact our law firm for a case review. Cron, Israels & Stark is located in Los Angeles, CA.
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