The trial court denied the motion. The jury convicted Hall of three counts of burglary. The same argument was again made in Hall's motion for a new trial. The motion was again denied. The issue before us hinges upon the interpretation of the elements of burglary.
Statutory interpretation is a question of law and subject to unlimited review.
It is basic criminal law that the State has the burden to prove each element of burglary beyond a reasonable doubt. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, the standard of review is whether, after review of all the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the appellate court is convinced that a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Hall argues that he had the authority of K-Mart to enter the building, including the stockroom. We view the issue somewhat differently. As a member of the general public, Hall had the authority of K-Mart to enter the retail store building.