Hammond v. State
Delaware Supreme Court
569 A.2d 81 (1989)
- Written by Deanna Curl, JD
Facts
In 1986, Hammond (defendant), Moore, and Carter were involved in a car accident after drinking at a party. Moore and Carter died in the crash, and Hammond was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. Following the accident, an officer found Hammond in the driver’s seat of the car, Moore in the front-seat area overlapping Hammond, and Carter in the backseat. At trial, Hammond testified that Moore had been the driver of the car and presented a video produced by an engineer demonstrating how a passenger and driver not wearing seatbelts could end up in each other’s seats in a crash. The engineer testified that examining the car would be necessary to determine whether this had happened. The car had been unavailable for testing, however, because the police released it without collecting any evidence from it before receiving Hammond’s discovery request. Following his conviction, Hammond appealed, alleging that the state (plaintiff) violated his right to access the evidence under the due-process clause of the Delaware Constitution.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Holland, J.)
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