All denials of a directed verdict involve application of law (the applicable statute). We therefore review a trial court's decision on a motion for a directed verdict de novo. State v. Swann, 2007 MT 126, ¶ 17, 337 Mont. 326, 160 P.3d 511. An appellate court reviews the sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether, after 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. State v. Granby, 283 Mont. 193, 199, 939 P.2d 1006, 1009 (1997). An appellant need not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence at the district court level in order for this Court to review the "verdict or decision" on the basis of sufficiency of the evidence. Granby, 283 Mont. at 198, 939 P.2d at 1009.