The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Hursh, 217 F.3d 761 (9th Cir. 2000):
We review de novo the district court's denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal based upon insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction. United States v. Hernandez, 105 F.3d 1330, 1332 (9th Cir. 1997). In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we must ask whether, viewing "the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Hubbard, 96 F.3d 1223, 1226 (9th Cir. 1996) (internal quotation marks omitted).
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