Opinion ID: 4539139
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: standard of review

Text: [1,2] Whether the jury instructions given by a trial court are correct is a question of law. 1 When reviewing questions of law, an appellate court resolves the questions independently of the conclusion reached by the lower court. 2 [3] 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 admitted at trial, viewed and construed most favorably to the State, is sufficient to support the conviction. 3 [4] An appellate court will not disturb a sentence imposed within the statutory limits absent an abuse of discretion by the trial court. 4