Jan. 27, 2012 – A defendant who pled guilty to eight counts of statutory rape nearly 25 years ago waived an argument that police destroyed rape kits in bad faith when he submitted his guilty plea, a state appeals court recently concluded.

After Jesse Harris pled guilty to the charges in 1988, he challenged the conviction numerous times. In his latest challenge, he filed a petition for writ of mandamus that would compel the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission to investigate destruction of four rape kits.

Under Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51 (1988), Harris argued, the conviction is appealable if he can prove the police destroyed the rape kits in bad faith. In Youngblood, the U.S. Supreme Court held that “unless a criminal defendant can show bad faith on the part of the police, failure to preserve potentially useful evidence does not constitute a denial of due process.”

But in Harris v. Milwaukee City Fire and Police Commission, 2011AP547 (Jan. 24, 2012), the Dist. I Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that Harris could not appeal under Youngblood “because he pled guilty to the charges alleged against him and consequently waived all nonjurisdictional defects that may have arisen, including an errors regarding the destruction of the rape kits.”

Harris said Milwaukee police did not follow their own policies and procedures in destroying the kits after his conviction, and further investigation was warranted by Youngblood. “Harris’s premise is flawed, however, because Youngblood does not apply here,” wrote Presiding Judge Patricia Curley, noting the defendant in Youngblood was convicted after a jury trial.