> I do wonder if, in general, there needs to be a legal principle that hiding evidence of something has to be punished as harshly as the worst plausible crime t

> I do wonder if, in general, there needs to be a legal principle that hiding evidence of something has to be punished as harshly as the worst plausible crime that the evidence could be hiding There are various formulations of the adverse inference rule, but worse still is the false-exculpatory-statement / consciousness-of-guilt jury instruction. As a defense attorney, I have pled serious cases out based on a fear of that instruction.