acquittal

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Acquittal

The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime.

Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. Acquittals in law take place by operation of law such as when a person has been charged as an Accessory to the crime of Robbery and the principal has been acquitted.

acquittal

n. what an accused criminal defendant receives if he/she is found not guilty. It is a verdict (a judgment in a criminal case) of not guilty. (See: acquit)

acquittal

noun absolutio, absolution, acquitment, acquittance, amnesty, clearance, compurgation, discharge, dismissal, exculpation, exoneration, favorable verdict, letting off, liberatio, liberation, pardon, purgation, quittance, release, remission, reprieve, restoration, verdict of not guilty, vindication
Associated concepts: acquittal by a jury
Foreign phrases: Paribus sententiis reus absolvitur.When the opinions are equal, where the court is equally divided, the defendant is acquitted.

acquittal

a decision of a court that a defendant prosecuted for a criminal offence is not guilty. It also describes the Scottish verdict of NOT PROVEN.

ACQUITTAL, contracts. A release or discharge from an obligation or engagement. According to Lord Coke there are three kinds of acquittal, namely; 1. By deed, when the party releases the obligation; 2. By prescription; 3. By tenure. Co. Lit. 100, a.

ACQUITTAL, crim. law practice. The absolution of a party charged with a crime or misdemeanor.
2. Technically speaking, acquittal is - the absolution of a party accused on a trial before a traverse jury. 1 N. & M. 36; 3 McCord, 461.
3. Acquittals are of two kinds, in fact and in law. The former takes place when the jury upon trial finds a verdict of not guilty; the latter when a man is charged merely as an accessary, and the principal has been acquitted. 2 Inst. 384. An acquittal is a bar to any future prosecution for the offence alleged in the first indictment.

References in periodicals archive ?

It was the social context of his act that made his rage and his violence permissible, resulting in his acquittal.

Judicial authority and popular justice: crimes of passion in Fin-de-Siecle Paris

Part II documents how acquittal rates moved down whenever guilty plea rates went up.

Trial distortion and the end of innocence in federal criminal justice

The FIA had filed the application in the high court against the acquittal of Mr Shaikh in 2016 in the money laundering case, arguing that he was exonerated from the charges by the trial court despite strong evidence that proved his involvement in money laundering.

FIA takes Axact's chief into custody

27, after which the Trial Chamber will give its decision on the acquittals of Oneissi and Ayyash.

STL calls for written acquittal submissions

Before the Delhi High Court acquittal, a fast-track trial court had found Farooqui guilty and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

SC dismisses plea against 'Peepli Live' director's acquittal in rape case

The senator also pointed out the SC ruling that allowed the remains of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the CA acquittal of Janet Lim-Napoles of serious illegal detention charges, the Court of Tax Appeals' dismissal of tax raps against Jeane Napoles, and the Sandiganbayan's order to release former Senator Jinggoy Estrada on bail.

Judiciary inflicted with 'impunity virus' under Duterte, says De Lima

They say support for his Radical Party has firmed since his acquittal.

Hague prosecutor to appeal acquittal of Serbia's Seselj

After the prosecutor of the case, Ali Ertan, demanded the acquittal of all suspects over the charges of being members of a "terrorist organization" and argued that the digital evidence against the suspects were forged during the hearing on Feb.

356 suspects acquitted in military espionage case

BOLLYWOOD actor Salman Khan, who become a punching bag, especially on social media, for the circumstances under which he walked free in the 2002-hit-and-run case got a boost from the Supreme Court (SC) which termed the gossip that he had used money power to secure the acquittal as 'wild allegation'.

SC says Salman bribery charges are just gossip

21 -- The Karnataka Government has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India against the acquittal of Jayalalithaa by the Karnataka High Court.

Value of disproportionate assets: Supreme Court likely to cancel the Jayalalithaa's acquittal order!

RAWALPINDI -- A special customs court in Rawalpindi is set to announce on Friday (today) its verdict on model Ayyan Ali's acquittal plea in the money laundering case almost six months after her initial arrest from the airport with an undeclared half-a-million dollars in cash.

Court to announce verdict on Ayyan''s acquital plea today

Manila, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the acquittal of two of the so-called "Alabang Boys" whose drug trafficking charges were dismissed by the Muntinlupa regional trial court (RTC) in 2011.