United States v. Williams

MEMORANDUM **

Timothy Williams appeals the conviction and sentence entered against him in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona after a jury found him guilty of “Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury” in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 113 (a)(6). His sole claim is that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We review sufficiency of evidence claims de novo. United States v. Duran, 189 F.3d 1071, 1078 (9th Cir.1999). “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.” Id.

Williams contends the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to support his conviction because no rational trier of fact could find the victim’s bodily injuries were “serious” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1365 (h)(3) — a definition that 18 U.S.C. § 113 (b)(2) incorporates by reference. As we acknowledged when interpreting an older version of 18 U.S.C. § 113 in United States v. Johnson, 637 F.2d 1224…