California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Gonzales, G055328 (Cal. App. 2019):
Defendant's first claim is that the trial court erred by not granting his motion for acquittal ( 1118.1) on count one, kidnap for robbery. "In ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal pursuant to section 1118.1, a trial court applies the same standard an appellate court applies in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, that is, '"whether from the evidence, including all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, there is any substantial evidence of the existence of each element of the offense charged." [Citations.]' [Citation.] 'Where the section 1118.1 motion is made at the close of the prosecution's case-in-chief, the sufficiency of the evidence is tested as it stood at that point.'" (People v. Cole (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1158, 1212-1213.)
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