Opinion ID: 587678
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 12 Becker contends evidence was insufficient to show that his attack on the officer was immediate in terms of the robbery statute. In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim on a habeas petition, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (emphasis in original). When a state appellate court has concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction, that finding must be given great deference by federal courts. Ward v. Lockhart, 841 F.2d 844, 846 (8th Cir.1988). 13 Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the entire episode, from the time Becker was confronted at the door until the time he was subdued, lasted less than five minutes. Based on the facts and circumstances present at the time, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the outburst occurred immediately after the theft under the definition enunciated in Wilson. Therefore, evidence was sufficient to uphold the conviction.