Opinion ID: 2389751
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Cooper next argues that the Superior Court erred by failing to enter a judgment of acquittal following the trial urging that no reasonable fact finder could have found the defendant to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The standard for determining whether there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction is whether, based on that evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any trier of fact rationally could find beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the offense charged. State v. Eaton, 577 A.2d 1162, 1167 (Me.1990) (quoting State v. Barry, 495 A.2d 825, 826 (Me.1985)). We must defer to the jury's decisions as to the credibility and weight of the various items of testimony and other evidence and can vacate a guilty verdict only if the jury rationally could not have reached that conclusion on the basis of the evidence before it. State v. Caouette, 462 A.2d 1171, 1176 (Me.1983). Applying those standards to the present record on appeal, it cannot be said that the jury acted irrationally in concluding beyond a reasonable doubt that Cooper was guilty of any of the offenses charged. First, the victim testified that he was alone with Cooper when Cooper attacked him with the knife and left him to die. Second, Cooper's fingerprints were found on a bank bag taken from the victim's car. Third, Cooper was eventually apprehended in the possession of the victim's car. Finally, Cooper's own admissions, which were found to be voluntary beyond a reasonable doubt, further link Cooper to the attack. Thus, the record contains ample evidence sufficient to support the jury verdict.