What is the test for acquitting a defendant in a sexual assault case if the jury finds that circumstantial evidence is susceptible to two reasonable interpretations?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Honest, B242979 (Cal. App. 2014):

Although it is the duty of the jury to acquit a defendant if it finds that circumstantial evidence is susceptible to two reasonable interpretations, one of which suggests guilt and the other innocence, it is the jury, not the appellate court that must be convinced of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Milwee (1998) 18 Cal.4th 96, 132.) "If the circumstances reasonably justify the trier of fact's findings, the opinion of the reviewing court that the circumstances might also reasonably be reconciled with a contrary finding does not warrant a reversal of the judgment." (People v. Bean (1988) 46 Cal.3d 933.)

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