Court Opinion

ID: 9655037
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 18:58:38.666836+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:15.703592
License: Public Domain

DONIELSON, Judge
(dissenting).
I dissent.
I believe there is substantial evidence in the record to support the verdict finding the defendant guilty under Iowa Code § 725.7 (1979). The majority’s emphasis on distinguishing Iowa Code § 725.10 (1979), which makes it an offense to record or register a bet or wager is unwarranted. The defendant was not charged under that section and there has been no finding that the defendant actually recorded or registered any bets or wagers. It is not the job of this court to intimate that the defendant is guilty of a different crime than that with which he is charged. Our only duty is to determine whether there was substantial evidence to support the verdict. In so doing, we are to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment and uphold the verdict if it is supported by substantial evidence. State v. Robinson, 288 N.W.2d 337, 338-40 (Iowa 1980). Evidence is substantial if a rational trier of fact could be convinced that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id., at 339.
In its opinion, the majority appears to conclude that the defendant was recording or registering bets or wagers and that this is insufficient to establish the crime of bookmaking. As pointed out, this line of analysis is inappropriate since there has been no conclusion that defendant was engaged in such activities. Moreover, the majority misreads the state’s argument to mean that they produced absolutely no evidence of the placement of a bet. Throughout their brief, the state concedes that they have no direct proof of this fact, but asserts there was sufficient circumstantial proof of defendant’s guilt to uphold the verdict. Nowhere is it suggested that there is no circumstantial evidence that defendant was engaged in bookmaking which is defined, in part, as the taking or receiving of illegal bets or wagers. On the contrary, the facts showed defendant made consecutive weekly visits to the same places, that he was in possession of various bookmaking paraphernalia and a large amount of cash, and that the account balance sheet demonstrated that if payouts were deducted from the receipts, the remaining sum would approximate that found in his possession. This is circumstantial evidence which is just as probative as direct evidence. Iowa R.App.P. 14(f)(16). Since I believe the circumstantial evidence in this case is substantial, I would *774affirm the trial court’s findings on this issue.