State v. Schweitzer, 961 N.W.2d 310

In July 2019 Brandon Schweitzer struck a victim’s arm with his cane, fracturing the arm.
Schweitzer was charged with and tried by jury for aggravated assault; the jury convicted him.
The State collected Schweitzer’s cane as evidence but later lost/misplaced it before trial.
Schweitzer appealed, arguing the lost cane violated Brady/due process and that evidence was insufficient to support conviction.
The district court found no evidence the State acted in bad faith in losing the cane and rejected Schweitzer’s challenges; the Supreme Court reviewed and affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether loss of the cane violated Brady or due process	State: losing the cane wasn’t deliberate or in bad faith, so no due process or Brady violation	Schweitzer: loss suppressed favorable evidence and deprived his defense	Court: Brady not implicated; Schweitzer failed to show State acted in bad faith; no due process violation
Whether evidence was sufficient for aggravated assault conviction	State: evidence (injury and facts) supported conviction	Schweitzer: evidence insufficient; no reasonable inference of guilt	Court: viewing evidence in light most favorable to verdict, sufficient evidence existed; conviction upheld

State v. Kolstad, 942 N.W.2d 865 (recognizing Brady test elements and standard for favorable evidence)
State v. Ostby, 853 N.W.2d 556 (failure to preserve collected evidence can violate due process; bad-faith destruction required)
City of Bismarck v. Holden, 522 N.W.2d 471 (noting systemic evidence-handling problems could alter analysis)
State v. Eggleston, 940 N.W.2d 645 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence on appeal)