acquit definition law
An acquittal serves as a certification that the person formally accused has not been found guilty. An acquittal results from the prosecutor not proving the case against the criminal defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. It may arrive before the defendant even presents his/her defence, by way of a directed verdict. Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law : The term (acquittal) applies to offences tried on indictment, and means discharge from prosecution upon a verdict of not guilty, or on a successful plea of pardon or of autrefois acquit or autrefois convict. A decision by a judge that a person accused of a crime is not guilty. Related Terms: Stay, Autrefois Acquit, Nolle Prosequi, Presumption of Innocence. An acquittal is an official fact finding that the accused is not guilty of the criminal offense with which he is charged.. Use acquit in a sentence. LINK / CITE ADD TO WORD LIST. verb. The definition of acquit is to clear a person of a charge of wrongdoing. An example of acquit is to find a person not guilty of a crime in court. Acquit is defined as how someone behaves in a difficult situation. When a person loses their house and their job, but still manage to keep their head up it is an example of knowing how to acquit himself under great pressure. 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. ac·quit. tr.v. ac·quit·ted, ac·quit·ting, ac·quits. 1. Law To find not guilty of a criminal offense. 2. To conduct (oneself) in a specified manner: acquitted herself well during the interview. 3. Archaic To release or discharge from an obligation, such as a debt. 4. Obsolete To repay. 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. Every intelligent person present could see that the prisoner's chance of an honorable acquittal depended on tracing the poison to the possession of his wife--or at least on proving her expressed intention to obtain it. Law and the Lady by Collins, Wilkie View in context. acquit. vb (tr) , -quits, -quitting or-quitted. 1. (Law) (foll by of). a. to free or release (from a charge of crime). b. to pronounce not guilty. 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.
It is a bar to any future prosecution for the offence alleged in the first indictment.