California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Guinn, D058985 (Cal. App. 2012):
Under section 1181, a defendant may seek an order granting a new trial based on insufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict. When ruling on the motion, the trial court must independently weigh the evidence. (People v. Serrato (1973) 9 Cal.3d 753, 761, overruled on other grounds in People v. Fosselman (1983) 33 Cal.3d 572, 583, fn. 1.) The defendant is first entitled to a decision by the jury, and then independently by the judge, who must consider the sufficiency of the evidence, weigh the conflicts and inconsistencies, and evaluate the credibility of witnesses. In making this determination the court must use its own judgment and does not rely merely on the jury's conclusions. (People v. Navarro (1946) 74 Cal.App.2d 544, 554.) The trial court's ruling, however,
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