![]() Judges are reluctant to waste court time and resources so unless there is a reasonable chance of securing a conviction, the case may be dismissed. This can be due to a variety of reasons but normally because the judge does not believe that the case has the requisite credibility or the prosecutor does not have the necessary evidence to meet the burden of proof at the preliminary hearing.Īnother reason for case dismissal is if a judge believes that there are insufficient resources to try the case. ![]() ![]() If a defendant is acquitted, it means that the case went to trial but the prosecutor was not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he or she committed the crime.Ī case dismissal is brought about if a case does not proceed to a jury trial. In that scenario, the defendant is partially acquitted of those charges that he/she is found not guilty but cannot walk away free because the defendant must answer for those charges that he/she is found guilty of. In some cases, multiple charges are filed against a defendant and a judge or jury may find the defendant not guilty of some charges but guilty of others. Accordingly, the charge may remain on the defendant’s criminal record even without a conviction. The defendant will then be found by a verdict of “not guilty” and then acquitted of charge and the case dismissed.Īn acquittal does not mean that the defendant is innocent of the crime-only that the prosecutor failed to prove that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If there is only one charge and the defendant is found “not guilty” it means that the prosecution has failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for the charge or, to put it another way, they did not meet the burden of proof. Under criminal procedural law, the prosecution needs to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for each element of each charge presented. To find a defendant not guilty is generally taken to mean “to acquit” although there is a subtle difference between the two, as explained. An acquittal comes about when the trier of fact, a judge or jury, finds a defendant “not guilty” of the crime charged.Īt a trial, if you are found “not guilty” by a judge or jury, you are acquitted by the court. Further, one cannot offer as evidence the acquittal of a co-defendant to prove the other co-defendant is not guilty.If a defendant is found not guilty, he or she is not legally answerable for the criminal charge filed against him/her. In that case, the fact that the defendant was acquitted does not render the evidence inadmissible. ![]() Oftentimes, acquittals will come in the form of a judgment that the defendant was “hereby dismissed of the within charge.” After an acquittal, there is nothing on which punishment could be based unless there is evidence of another offense that is otherwise admissible. The double jeopardy clause bars appeal and retrial by the prosecutor. One who is acquitted is judicially discharged from an accusation and is absolved. A not guilty finding is an adjudication that proof at a prior proceeding was insufficient to overcome all reasonable doubt of guilt of the accused. The trier of fact, whether the jury or the court, must render a verdict of finding not guilty of the charged offense. An acquittal is a resolution of some or all of the factual elements of the offense charged.
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