Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Akron.
No. 5:20-cr-00262-1—Solomon Oliver, Jr., District Judge.
Argued: October 18, 2022
Decided and Filed: April 20, 2023
Before: BATCHELDER, BUSH, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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ALICE M. BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge. We are asked to grant extraordinary relief.
Christian Ferguson asks us to overturn his jury conviction on the ground that there was
insufficient evidence to support the conviction. To do so, we must find that no rational juror
could have found Ferguson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Certainly, this standard,
established in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979), sets a high bar—respecting the
solemn role the jury plays in our criminal justice system. Sufficiency review also fulfills a
solemn role, guaranteeing that no person is criminally convicted, and thereby deprived of liberty,
without due process of law. U.S. CONST. amend. V. It ensures that criminal convictions are
supported by sufficient evidence, because anything less undermines the integrity of the judicial
process. The jury convicted Ferguson on insufficient evidence, in violation of Jackson and the
Fifth Amendment. We therefore reverse the judgment of the district court. |