Whether a federal court must apply the 'rule of equipoise' and grant a motion for judgment of acquittal when evidence of guilt and innocence is evenly balanced

QUESTION PRESENTED Whether a federal court, assessing the sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case based wholly on circumstantial evidence, must apply the “rule of equipoise” and grant a motion for judgment of acquittal when, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, evidence of guilt and innocence is evenly balanced. ii RELATED CASES United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Nos. 20-4149, 20-4184, United States v. Demetrios Stavrakis, Judgment entered February 24, 2022; United States District Court for the District of Maryland, No. ELH-19-00160, United States v. Demetrios Stavrakis, Amended Judgment and Conviction and Sentence entered February 25, 2020.