CLPEX Chat Board

The question still begs...who is the unfortunate person that is going to be responsible for the collection of this swallowed evidence? I'm calling in sick that day.

There's case law from Florida, and I think CT, that this qualifies as obstruction of justice by destroying evidence. (The Fla and CT cases deal with swallowing drugs during an arrest.) As I recall in those cases, the defendant was given a purgative -- tho in that case it was medically justified due to the risks from ingestion of the drugs. Don't know if there's any legal basis for trying to recover this evidence.

I would think that allowing the jury to view this video would be more informative (by virtue of its novelty) that showing them the actual note in a zip lock bag.

Why on Earth would you even keep the note with you. Come on, guy. You're doing a robbery, presumably for cash. You really can afford the materials for a new note for each robbery.

Perhaps his lawyer will plead that it was just his grocery list, and he suffers from pica and is compelled to eat non-food objects. It will help if in court he nibbles on some legal papers, perhaps a couple of pages of the indictment, followed by a candy wrapper for dessert.