Opinion ID: 1891351
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Reynolds next contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for acquittal because the evidence was not sufficient to sustain his convictions. In reviewing a motion for judgment of acquittal, a de novo standard of review applies. See Pagan v. State, 830 So.2d 792, 803 (Fla.2003). Generally, an appellate court will not reverse a conviction that is supported by competent, substantial evidence. See id. (citing Donaldson v. State, 722 So.2d 177 (Fla.1998); Terry v. State, 668 So.2d 954, 964 (Fla.1996)). If, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State, a rational trier of fact could find the existence of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, sufficient evidence exists to sustain a conviction. See Pagan, 830 So.2d at 803 (citing Banks v. State, 732 So.2d 1065 (Fla.1999)). In moving for a judgment of acquittal, a defendant admits not only the facts stated in the evidence adduced, but also admits every conclusion favorable to the adverse party that a jury might fairly and reasonably infer from the evidence. Beasley v. State, 774 So.2d 649, 657 (Fla.2000) (quoting Lynch v. State, 293 So.2d 44, 45 (1974)). We have stated that courts should not grant a motion for judgment of acquittal unless the evidence is such that no view which the jury may lawfully take of it favorable to the opposite party can be sustained under the law. Lynch, 293 So.2d at 45. However, where a conviction is based wholly upon circumstantial evidence, a special standard of review applies. Darling v. State, 808 So.2d 145, 155 (Fla.2002). As stated in Darling: Where the only proof of guilt is circumstantial, no matter how strongly the evidence may suggest guilt, a conviction cannot be sustained unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The question of whether the evidence fails to exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence is for the jury to determine, and where there is substantial, competent evidence to support the jury verdict, we will not reverse. Id. (quoting State v. Law, 559 So.2d 187, 188 (Fla.1989)). Therefore, a motion for judgment of acquittal should be granted in a case based wholly upon circumstantial evidence if the state fails to present evidence from which the jury could exclude every reasonable hypothesis except that of guilt. See Darling, 808 So.2d at 155-56. Nonetheless, [t]he state is not required to `rebut conclusively every possible variation' of events which could be inferred from the evidence, but only to introduce competent evidence which is inconsistent with the defendant's theory of events. Id. at 156 (quoting Law, 559 So.2d at 189). Once the State meets this threshold burden, it becomes the jury's duty to determine whether the evidence fails to exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence ..., and where there is substantial, competent evidence to support the jury verdict, [the Court] will not reverse. State v. Law, 559 So.2d 187, 188 (Fla.1989). Reynolds asserts that the evidence of his guilt offered by the State in this case was entirely circumstantial and, therefore, the heightened standard of review should apply to our consideration of the trial court's denial of his motion for acquittal. Reynolds contends that the case against him rests solely on the evidence that his finger was injured and tainted and inconsistent DNA evidence. Contrary to this assertion, the evidence presented against him at trial by the State was far more than Reynolds accepts. In addition to the evidence Reynolds has noted, the State also introduced expert testimony from a medical examiner demonstrating that the injury to Reynolds' hand was inconsistent with his explanation of the injury; testimony from a neighbor of the victims who saw Danny Privett sitting on Reynolds' car, which was parked at the victims' residence the night the crimes were committed; microscopic and DNA analysis of a pubic hair found at the crime scene matched a hair sample taken from Reynolds; Reynolds' admission during an interview with law officers that he had a heated argument with Danny Privett; eyewitness testimony corroborating the circumstances surrounding the argument between Reynolds and Danny Privett; evidence that Reynolds denied ever being in the victims' residencea statement that was clearly inconsistent with the considerable DNA evidence presented at trial which placed him inside the trailer; testimony from Reynolds' neighbor who saw him washing clothes at 5:30 a.m. on the morning the bodies were discovered; clothes found hanging on Reynolds' clothesline the morning the bodies were discovered that appeared to have been strongly bleached; and the testimony of two prisoners who had previously been incarcerated with Reynolds that Reynolds admitted to them that he had in fact committed the crimes. We have previously held that evidence similar to that offered in the instant matter refuted the assertion that the case was entirely circumstantial. See Meyers v. State, 704 So.2d 1368, 1370 (Fla.1997) (holding that the case could not be deemed wholly circumstantial where testimony at trial established that the defendant confessed to a former cellmate); Orme v. State, 677 So.2d 258, 261-62 (Fla. 1996) (holding that case involving evidence such as eyewitness testimony placing the defendant at the scene, acknowledgment by the defendant of a dispute with the victim and theft of the victim's purse, and DNA evidence suggesting that the defendant had engaged in sexual relations with the victim could not be deemed entirely circumstantial). Based on the foregoing, we conclude that Reynolds' claim that the State's case was based wholly upon circumstantial evidence is without support. The evidence admitted at trial demonstrates that the evidence presented by the State was not entirely circumstantial, and, therefore, we need not apply the special standard of review applicable to cases based solely on circumstantial evidence. See Fitzpatrick v. State, 900 So.2d 495, 506 (Fla.2005) ([T]his Court need not apply the special standard of review applicable to circumstantial evidence cases because the State presented direct evidence in the form of DNA evidence and eyewitness testimony.). In reviewing a trial court's denial of a defendant's motion for acquittal in a case not based entirely on circumstantial evidence, we look to determine whether, when viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State, sufficient evidence exists that would permit a rational trier of fact to find the elements of the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. See Pagan, 830 So.2d at 803. A careful review of the above-noted evidence, along with the significant DNA evidence presented by the State demonstrating that Reynolds' blood was scattered over both inside and outside portions of the trailer, establishes that this standard has been satisfied. The State presented competent, substantial evidence to support the jury's verdicts, and we conclude that the trial court properly denied Reynolds' motion for judgment of acquittal. Notwithstanding the above, even if we were to accept Reynolds' contention that the standard of review applicable to cases based wholly on circumstantial evidence is applicable to the instant matter, we would conclude that his claim should still be denied because the evidence offered at trial in support of the jury's verdicts was sufficient to satisfy even the higher standard of review applicable to such cases. The higher burden is one which would require the State to introduce competent evidence which is inconsistent with the defendant's theory of events to establish its case. Darling, 808 So.2d at 156. Here, the State clearly satisfied even this standard. Reynolds' theory of these crimes was that Justin Pratt committed them and that his statement to authorities that he was at home with his girlfriend, Nicole Edwards, at the time of the crimes was not true. However, the State countered this assertion by eliciting testimony from Edwards and Brenda Keck, a neighbor of Pratt, which was consistent with Pratt's statements to investigators. Moreover, testimony from a sheriff's investigator revealed that Pratt's residence was searched and that nothing of interest was found during that search. Additionally, Reynolds argued at trial that the DNA evidence presented against him was tainted, unreliable, and inconclusive. Again, the State provided substantial testimony rebutting this assertion. Lastly, Reynolds' version of the facts with regard to his injured finger and ankle was also rebutted by the State when it presented testimony from the medical examiner that Reynolds' explanation was implausible. Based on the foregoing, it is clear that the State introduced competent, substantial evidence at trial that was inconsistent with Reynolds' theory of events, and, therefore, the trial court properly denied Reynolds' motion for judgment of acquittal and submitted this case to the jury.