Opinion ID: 1583193
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: motion to dismiss or for directed verdict

Text: Kuehn also assigns error to the district court's overruling of her motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for a directed verdict which she made at the close of the State's case. She argued that there was no competent admissible evidence that she intentionally or deliberately harmed Cameron on August 4, 2004, or at any other time. Kuehn argued that the only evidence as to causation was so speculative that it was insufficient to sustain a verdict. The district court overruled Kuehn's motion. This alleged error was waived when Kuehn offered evidence in her defense. See State v. Sanders, 269 Neb. 895, 697 N.W.2d 657 (2005). Kuehn renewed her motions at the close of her case, and the court overruled these motions. Regardless of whether the evidence is direct, circumstantial, or a combination thereof, and regardless of whether the issue is labeled as a failure to direct a verdict, insufficiency of the evidence, or failure to prove a prima facie case, the standard is the same: In reviewing a criminal conviction, an appellate court does not resolve conflicts in the evidence, pass on the credibility of witnesses, or reweigh the evidence. Such matters are for the finder of fact, and a conviction will be affirmed, in the absence of prejudicial error, if the evidence, viewed and construed most favorably to the State, is sufficient to support the conviction. State v. Castor, 257 Neb. 572, 599 N.W.2d 201 (1999). The record shows that Cameron was injured while he was in Kuehn's care and that his injury caused severe damage. The physicians testified that Cameron's condition was not the result of a drop or fall as described by Kuehn. There was evidence of prior incidents in which Cameron sustained bruises or became ill while in Kuehn's care. The evidence was sufficient to support the conviction, and the district court did not err in failing to sustain the motion to dismiss or for a directed verdict made at the end of the trial.