Opinion
No. 28370
Decided August 20, 1979.
At the conclusion of the People's evidence, the trial court granted defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal on a charge of theft of auto parts, and the district attorney challenges the trial court's judgment.
Affirmed
1. CRIMINAL EVIDENCE — Acquittal — Burden — Guilt — Prosecution — Beyond Reasonable Doubt. To withstand a motion for a judgment of acquittal, the prosecution has the burden of establishing a prima facie case of guilt and must introduce sufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, no more, no less.
2. THEFT — Auto Parts — Motion for Acquittal — Evidence — Sufficiency. Where defendant was charged with the theft of auto parts and at the close of the People's case the trial court granted defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal for insufficiency of evidence, and where district attorney appealed this ruling alleging erroneous application of the standard for granting such motions, held, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
3. APPEAL AND ERROR — District Attorney — Adverse Rulings — Sufficiency of Evidence — Unproductive. Appeals by the district attorney for adverse rulings on sufficiency of the evidence serve little purpose and are rarely productive of any precedential value.
Appeal from the District Court of El Paso County, Honorable Bernard R. Baker, Judge.
Robert L. Russel, District Attorney, Robert M. Brown, Deputy, for plaintiff-appellant.
No appearance for defendant-appellee.
[1-3] At the conclusion of the People's evidence, the trial court granted defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal on a charge of theft of auto parts, namely, two hubcaps. The district attorney challenges the trial court's judgment based upon its allegedly erroneous application of the rule of law adopted by this court in People v. Bennett, 183 Colo. 125, 515 P.2d 466 (1973), which holds that to withstand a motion for a judgment of acquittal, the prosecution has the burden of establishing a prima facie case of guilt and must introduce sufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, no more, no less. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
From this record, we observe no lack of adherence to the guidelines set forth in Bennett, supra. As stated by this court in People v. Kirkland, 174 Colo. 362, 483 P.2d 1349 (1971), this type of appeal challenging the sufficiency of the evidence serves little purpose and is rarely productive of any precedential value.
Judgment affirmed.