People v. Grant

Summary

The court held that the statutory duty to preserve forensic evidence is mandatory because the legislature expressly provided felony liability for intentional violations, but it did not intend destruction of the evidence to require vacatur of a conviction. Because the statute contains no language linking posttrial evidence preservation to the validity of the conviction, the court reversed the appellate court and affirmed the circuit court. The court did not reach whether an adverse-inference instruction would be appropriate at a retrial.