United States v. Orgeron ( 2001 )

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-31259
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JAMES R. ORGERON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 99-CR-96-ALL-C
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April 19, 2001
Before SMITH, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
James R. Orgeron appeals from the jury conviction under 18
U.S.C. § 228 for willful failure to pay child support. Orgeron
argues that the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that he willfully failed to pay child support
because his failure to make partial payments did not adequately
establish willfulness.
Orgeron’s timely motion pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 29(c) is
sufficient to preserve his insufficiency argument for appellate
review. United States v. Allison, 616 F.2d 779, 784 (5th Cir.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
No. 99-31259
-2-
1980). This court reviews the district court’s denial of a motion
for judgment of acquittal de novo. United States v. Ferguson, 211
F.3d 878, 882 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 121 S. Ct. 258 (2000). In
evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, the court “must
determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable
to the verdict and drawing all reasonable inferences from the
evidence in support of the verdict, a rational trier of fact could
have found that the evidence established the essential elements of
the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id.We have reviewed the record and hold that a reasonable trier
of fact could find that the evidence establishes beyond a
reasonable doubt that Orgeron knew of the legal duty to pay child
support, that he could have paid some amount toward his past due
support obligation, and that he willfully chose not to pay
anything. United States v. Mathes, 151 F.3d 251, 253-54 (5th Cir.
1998). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.