Opinion ID: 2977012
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: When reviewing a claim of insufficiency of evidence, “the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, 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 (1979). In this context, “we do not weigh the evidence, assess the credibility of the witnesses, or substitute our judgment for that of the jury.” United States v. Salgado, 250 F.3d 438, 446 (6th Cir.) (internal quotation marks omitted), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 936 (2001). “The government may meet its burden through circumstantial evidence alone, and such evidence need not exclude every possible hypothesis except that of guilt.” United States v. Jackson, 55 F.3d 1219, 1225 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 926 (1995). “This Court will not consider challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence if the defendant failed to make a Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal at the end of the prosecution's case-in-chief and at the close of the evidence. Failure to make the required motions constitutes a waiver of objections to the sufficiency of the evidence.” United States v. Chance, 306 F.3d 356, 368-69 (6th Cir. 2002) (citation omitted). If a defendant fails to make the requisite Rule 29 motions, our review is “limited to determining whether there was a manifest miscarriage of justice. A No. 07-5696 United States v. Jordan Page 12 miscarriage of justice exists only if the record is devoid of evidence pointing to guilt.” United States v. Price, 134 F.3d 340, 350 (6th Cir.) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 845 (1998).10 Jordan argues that his conviction should be reversed because the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, Jordan made no Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal either at the close of the prosecution’s case-in-chief or at the close of all the evidence. See J.A. at 295 (Trial Tr. at 378); J.A. at 316-17 (Trial Tr. at 424-25). Therefore, our review is limited to determining whether there was a “manifest miscarriage of justice” such that the record is “devoid of evidence pointing to guilt.” Price, 134 F.3d at 350. The government presented substantial evidence at trial connecting Jordan both to the Suntrust lock-box account and to the fraudulent flyer directing Ameren customers to send payments to the Suntrust account. This evidence included several items found by Inspector Dorroh on Jordan’s person and in his car linking him to the Suntrust account and the flyer. These include the Suntrust debit card linked to the account, the receipt for the money order used to open the Suntrust account, the T-Mobile cell phone containing the fraudulent AmerenUE message, and a gift card used to pay for the Skype telephone number on the fraudulent flyers. Clearly, the record in this case is not “devoid of evidence pointing to guilt.” Consequently, we reject Jordan’s contention that his conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence.