United States v. James Morrison

MEMORANDUM

James Morrison appeals from his conviction in a bench trial for failing to register between February and April 2010 as a sex offender in violation of the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2250 (a). Despite his assertions to the contrary, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence to support the district court’s findings and affirm the conviction.

We review the district court’s denial of Morrison’s motion for acquittal de novo. United States v. Shipsey, 363 F.3d 962 , 971 n. 8 (9th Cir.2004); United States v. Johnson, 357 F.3d 980, 983 (9th Cir.2004). We examine “the ruling in the light most favorable to the Government and ask whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Johnson, 357 F.3d at 983 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “There is sufficient evidence to support a conviction if, ‘viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” Shipsey, 363 F.3d at 971 n. 8 (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 ,…