Description

At the close of all the evidence, the defendant moves for a judgment of acquittal (or a “directed verdict of acquittal,” as local practice may style it). This is a renewal of the motion previously made at the close of the prosecution’s case and raises the same legal issue. See Chapter 38. However, the issue is now decided on the basis of the evidence presented by both parties. See, e.g., United States v. Lawrence, 471 F.3d 135, 139-43 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (stating the general rule that “[i]f the defendant moves for a judgment of acquittal at the close of all the evidence, sufficiency claims must be evaluated in light of all the evidence, including any inculpatory evidence presented in the defense case,” but deeming that rule to be inapplicable because only the codefendant in this joint trial presented evidence, and the codefendant’s evidence cannot be considered “in evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence against the defendant”; accordingly, the determination of the defendant’s motion for acquittal can “take into account only the evidence presented in the government’s case-in-chief.”).

First Page

1792

Source Publication

Trial Manual 11 for the Defense of Criminal Cases

Source Editors/Authors

Anthony G. Amsterdam, Randy A. Hertz

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Chapter

Edition

11

Rights & Restrictions

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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