acquittal

views updated Jun 08 2018

ac·quit·tal / əˈkwitl/ • n. a judgment that a person is not guilty of the crime with which the person has been charged.

Acquittal

views updated Jun 08 2018

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.