Photographs obviously could not indicate the absence of fingerprints and DNA. See In re Q.D.G., 706 A.2d 36, 38 & n.6 (D.C. 1998). Appellants may be unable to demonstrate exactly what inspection of the car would have revealed, but that does not mean they failed to carry their burden of showing materiality.
Custody , Black's Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014).See, e.g. , In re Q.D.G. , 706 A.2d 36, 38 n.5 (D.C. 1998) (motor vehicle allegedly driven by respondent without owner's consent and towed to police impoundment lot held subject to discovery under Rule 16 as a tangible item "in the custody or control" of the District). Last but not least is the term "control."
For example, in In re Q.D.G., this court held that the trial court abused its discretion when the trial court declined to sanction a party for failure to produce a discoverable piece of evidence for inspection because the trial court's denial was based on flawed legal reasoning. 706 A.2d 36, 38 (D.C. 1998). In that case, appellant was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and the testimony elicited by the government was that the vehicle driven by appellant had a "punched out" steering column, which indicates that a vehicle is stolen.
Generally, in reviewing a denial of a request for sanctions, we must ascertain whether the trial court abused its discretion. See Phelan v. City of Mt. Rainier, 805 A.2d 930, 942 (D.C. 2002) (citing Kay v. Pick, 711 A.2d 1251, 1256 (D.C. 1998) (citing In re Q.D.G., 706 A.2d 36 (D.C. 1998)) ("We review the trial court's denial of discovery orders for an abuse of discretion."); see also United States v. Curtis, 755 A.2d 1011, 1014 (D.C. 2000) ("This court reviews a trial court's Rule 16 discovery determination for abuse of discretion.") (citations omitted). The correct interpretation and application of Rule 16, however, is a legal question which we review de novo since "[j]udicial discretion must . . . be founded upon correct legal principles. . . ."
The motions judge denied the request to produce the police complaint log book "because not warranted by facts and circumstances of this incident, i.e., irrelevant." We review the trial court's denial of discovery orders for an abuse of discretion. Kay v. Pick, 711 A.2d 1251, 1256 (D.C. 1998) (citing In re Q.D.G., 706 A.2d 36 (D.C. 1998)) (other citation omitted). "The trial court has broad discretion to weigh the factors in deciding whether discovery should be compelled."
The standard for review of a trial court discovery order is that the order will be disturbed only for an abuse of discretion. In re Q.D.G., 706 A.2d 36 (D.C. 1998); Cotton v. United States, 388 A.2d 865, 869-70 (D.C. 1978). This occurs "if [the trial court's] actions are clearly unreasonable, arbitrary, or fanciful."