Cook v. State (1993)

In Cook v. State, 858 S.W.2d 467, 470 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993), the Court of Criminal Appeals stated: "A challenge to the trial judge's ruling on a motion for an instructed verdict is in actuality a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction." Therefore, when considering a point of error contending the trial court erred in overruling a motion for instructed verdict, the reviewing court "will consider the evidence presented at trial by both the State and appellant in determining whether there was sufficient evidence." Id. In other words, the standard of appellate review of a ruling on a motion for instructed verdict is the same standard in reviewing legal sufficiency of the evidence.