Acquittal
Acquittal is a legal term that signifies a formal judgment that a defendant is not guilty of the charges brought against them. This determination can occur through various means, such as a jury finding the defendant not guilty, a judge concluding that there is insufficient evidence, or a case being dismissed by the court. Once an individual has been acquitted, they cannot be prosecuted again for the same crime, as doing so would violate the principle of double jeopardy, which is protected under common law and constitutional provisions in the United States.
Acquittals can arise from procedural defects during a trial, but in such instances, the defendant is not protected from being retried if the case is dismissed. The process for seeking an acquittal can occur at different stages of a trial, including before the case is presented to a jury or after a jury verdict has been reached. Understanding the nuances of acquittals is key for anyone navigating the legal system, as it underscores the importance of evidence, procedural integrity, and the rights of the accused.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Acquittal
SIGNIFICANCE: Acquittals automatically follow determinations through legal processes that defendants are innocent of the crimes for which they are tried.
An acquittal can result when the jury finds a defendant not guilty, when a judge determines that there is insufficient evidence in a case, or by dismissal of indictments by the court. Once an accused person has been acquitted of crimes, that person may not be lawfully prosecuted a second time for the same crime. If such prosecution were to take place, it would place the defendant in double jeopardy of losing life, liberty, or property, which is in violation of common law and of the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions.
Typically, protection against double jeopardy extends to any prosecution associated with the same act or acts. For example, if an individual has been acquitted of a charge of using a weapon to commit murder, the defendant cannot be retried for any assault committed on the alleged victim. However, when a trial is terminated because of a procedural defect, the defendant is not protected by the rule against double jeopardy. Thus, the defendant can be prosecuted again on the same charge or on related charges. In most states, no degree of procedural error on the part of the state can justify acquittal of a suspect whose conviction is sure based on the evidence. In addition, no evidence can be excluded for reasons of procedural error provided that the procedural error does not affect the confidence that can be safely vested in the evidence.
A motion for a judgment of acquittal can be made prior to submission of the case to the jury, at the close of all the evidence presented before the jury, or after the jury has been discharged. If the evidence is insufficient to produce a conviction, the defendant or the court may request a judgment for acquittal before the case is turned over to the jury. If a motion for judgment of acquittal is made at the close of all the evidence, the court can choose to reserve a decision on the motion, submit the case to the jury, and decide on the acquittal either before or after the jury returns a verdict. After the jury returns a verdict of guilty or is discharged without having returned a verdict, a motion for judgment of acquittal may be made or renewed within a specified time frame (usually fourteen days) after the jury is discharged. In order to make a motion for judgment of acquittal after the jury has rendered its verdict, it is not necessary that a motion was made prior to the submission of the case to the jury.
Bibliography
Abramson, Jeffery. We, the Jury: The Jury System and the Ideal of Democracy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1994.
Del Carmen, Rolando V. Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice. 6th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004.
Emanuel, S. L. Criminal Procedure. Aspen, Colo.: Aspen Publishing, 2003.
"Judgments of Acquittal in Criminal Trials." Justia, Oct. 2023, www.justia.com/criminal/procedure/judgments-of-acquittal/. Accessed 19 June 2024.