State v. Wolleat

The question in this case is whether evidence that defendant dragged the victim from one room to another during the course of an assault was sufficient to permit a reasonable juror to find that defendant had kidnapped the victim. The trial court denied defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal on the kidnapping charge, the jury found him guilty of kidnapping, and the Court of Appeals affirmed without opinion. State v. Wolleat, 189 Or App 336, 75 P3d 921 (2003). We allowed defendant’s petition for review and now reverse.

In reviewing defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal, we state…