What Is The Difference Between Acquittal And Not Guilty? – Guest Post

If you are charged with a crime, your criminal defense attorney will make an effort to protect your rights. Not only that, but the lawyer will strive to produce the result strategically, which is in your favor. Therefore successful outcomes can come in various formats.

The most significant outcome is a case dismissal. If the alleged case is dismissed, then you will no longer be prosecuted. You also can easily avoid the criminal conviction that has been incorporated into the criminal record.

On the other hand, if a plea deal is unable to reach between the prosecution and criminal defense attorney, then the alleged case will turn into a trial. In this situation, your lawyer will seek such a statement where you have been proven as “not guilty,” and it will be in an acquittal.

In this article, we are going to discuss some important factors about “acquittal” and “not guilty.”

The Differences Between Acquittal And Not Guilty

Below we have mentioned the differences between Acquittal and not guilty.

1) The term “not guilty” means when a defendant is not legally part of it. This means if a person is charged with “rape” and “sexual abusive” cases, then insufficient evidence may help to dismiss the case. On the other hand, enough evidence to prove the charge of domestic violence is false. In this case, the accused will be proven as “not guilty.”

“Acquitted” means when the jury trial or a bench trial has found the defendant is not guilty. A partial acquittal is after finishing the partial criminal trial; a defendant is found “not guilty” of one charge.

2) “Not Guilty” means when the court doesn’t have enough evidence and proves that the accused is guilty except for reasonable doubt. On the other hand, an acquittal is a decision when the defendant is free from the alleged criminal charges of which he/she is accused.

3)If the accused person is found “not guilty” of a crime or “acquitted,” it doesn’t mean that the jury or court believes that the accused person is innocent of the crime. It simply meant that prosecutors didn’t have enough evidence to support their alleged charges. Or they are not able to present their evidence and prove it in a compelling way to convince the jury.

Suppose a person shoots and murders someone who enters their property to commit a crime. In this case, the killer is not an innocent person in the shooting. But that person will not be found guilty because it happens for self defense and protection of the property.

4) if a defendant is charged with several crimes, then there is the possibility of partial Acquittal. Suppose a defendant is accused of committing domestic violence against a woman who died later. In this case, they may face charges related to battery and assault and also manslaughter charges.

They may be found guilty regarding the charges of domestic violence, but they are acquitted of manslaughter charges. Later they may face battery and penalties for assault. But they will not face higher penalties for manslaughter.

Now The Question May Arise Are Not Guilty And Acquittal The Same?

1) If an accused is acquitted, then it means that the case went to trial. In this case, the prosecutor was not able to prove beyond doubt that the alleged person committed the crime.

2) when a case has been dismissed, this means that the case doesn’t undergo a jury trial. This situation can occur due to many reasons like the judge doesn’t believe that the alleged factors are credible or the prosecutor doesn’t have enough evidence to give as proof at the preliminary hearing.

Another reason for case dismissal is when the judge believes that they don’t have enough resources to finish the case.

3)Judges are inclined to waste court resources and time, so there is a chance of securing the conviction. In this situation, the case may be dismissed. This means no defendant or trial can walk free.

What Is The Meaning Of Acquittal?

The acquitted meaning is when the accused is free from the charges, and the criminal law is concerned.

The final statement of the Acquittal is dependent on the final statement of the jurisdiction. In some countries like the United States, an acquittal operates to bar a similar offense even if new evidence surfaces further implications.

The impact of Acquittal is the same no matter the statement from the jurisdiction or from other rules that dismissed the case. In other countries, the prosecutor may represent the appeal in the way the defendant appeals to the conviction statements.

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What Is The Meaning Of “Not Guilty?”

The thing is, when a prosecutor charges a case on a defendant; then the prosecutor needs to prove the committed crime “beyond reasonable doubt.” In this case when the jury thinks that the defendant absolutely committed a crime without any doubt.

Doubts will occur when the defense starts calling the prosecution’s case into an interrogative statement. This can be done by exposing the witnesses that have occurred during the crime. If you are found “not guilty,” that doesn’t mean you are innocent, but the evidence for your crime wasn’t strong.

Conclusion

We have mentioned some of the factors about “acquittal” and “not guilty” above in this article. The verdict against “not guilty” is mainly Acquittal. But it is not necessary to prove “acquittal” needs “not guilty” statements.

We hope you found this article helpful. In case you have queries, please comment down below.

AUTHOR BIO:

Chis Martin is a passionate blogger. He loves to share her thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the world through blogging. He can write Multiniche topics such as Tech, Travel, Tourism, Business, Food, Health, Game, Gadgets, Fashion, Law and many more. Steve is associated with  Newsprofy, Techrab,