Criminal Law
Acquittal
A court's formal finding that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges, resulting in the accused being set free.
An acquittal is the outcome when, after trial, the court concludes the prosecution hasn't proved its case beyond reasonable doubt — the accused is then free of the charges and cannot ordinarily be tried again for the same offence.
It is different from a discharge, which happens earlier in the process, before a full trial, when the court finds there isn't even enough material to proceed to trial in the first place.
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