Black v. State

Pursuant to the grant of his motion for an out-of-time appeal, Christopher Jones Black, also known as Ralph Wells and Harvey Phillips, appeals his conviction for possession of cocaine. He contends the trial court erred by denying his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal because the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. We disagree and affirm.

1. A motion for a directed verdict of acquittal should be granted only when there is no conflict in the evidence and the evidence with all reasonable deductions and inferences therefrom demands a verdict of acquittal as a matter of law. OCGA § 17-9-1 a; Taylor v. State, 252 Ga. 125 312 SE2d 311 1984. On appeal a reviewing court may consider all the evidence in the case Bethay v. State, 235 Ga. 371, 375 219 SE2d 743 1975, and must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Humphrey v. State, 252 Ga. 525, 527 1 314 SE2d 436 1984. Further, the test established in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 US 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979, is the appropriate one to use when the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged, whether the challenge is from the denial of a directed verdict or the denial of a motion for new trial based upon alleged insufficiency of the evidence. Humphrey v. State, supra, 252 Ga. at 527 1.