People v. Braunthal

In this interlocutory appeal, the People challenge the trial court's order suppressing testimony by individuals who had viewed an incriminating segment of a videotape that was subsequently destroyed. The trial court's order was based on a finding that the destruction of the videotape violated the due process rights of the defendant, Susana Rebeca Braunthal (Braunthal). The People argue that there was no due process violation because state action was not the cause of the degradation of the videotape in question and because the videotape was not exculpatory. Braunthal argues that the…