United States v. Charmaine Y. Zeigler

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge RANDOLPH.

RANDOLPH, Circuit Judge:

This appeal from a criminal conviction raises an old problem. The government’s evidence falls short of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Nevertheless, the trial court denies the defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal. The defense puts on its case and the defendant takes the stand. The jury then returns a verdict of guilty. Perhaps the defendant’s demeanor, itself evidence, caused the jury to infer that the truth was the opposite of what the defendant said. However, as Judge Learned Hand wrote in Dyer v.…