ACQUITTAL

6 definitions found across Law Mind sources

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ACQUITTALAuthored
The Law Mind • 1201 words
Definition
A formal determination that a person charged with a crime is not guilty, resulting in discharge from that charge. In criminal procedure, an acquittal ends the prosecution and, under the Double Jeopardy Clause, permanently bars retrial for the same offense. Two principal meanings exist in legal usage: 1. Criminal acquittal. The discharge of a defendant from criminal liability, either by jury verdict, directed verdict, or court ruling. The operative legal effect is not merely release from custody but immunity from reprosecution — a distinction with constitutional weight. 2. Contractual acquittal (archaic). A release or discharge from a debt, obligation, or engagement. This civil-law sense appears frequently in historical sources and early common law pleading but has largely fallen out of modern usage, replaced by terms such as release, discharge, or satisfaction. ---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): "A legal decision that someone is not guilty with which they have been charged, or the formal dismissal of a charge by some other legal process." Wiktionary also retains older senses: fulfillment of a duty, payment of a debt, and deliverance from danger. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "A setting free, or deliverance from the charge of an offense, by verdict of a jury or sentence of a court" — and separately, "discharge from debt or obligation." The common-language definitions track the legal ones reasonably well for the criminal sense. The meaningful gap is the contractual sense: everyday usage treats acquittal as purely a criminal-court outcome, but historical legal sources treat it equally as a civil release from obligation. Researchers reading early case law or equity pleadings will encounter the contractual sense without warning if they rely on modern intuition alone. ---
Common Confusion
ACQUITTAL vs. DISMISSAL: A dismissal terminates a case on procedural grounds before or during trial and does not always carry double jeopardy protection. An acquittal — including a directed verdict granted after the prosecution rests — does trigger that bar. Courts and commentators sometimes use the terms loosely; the legal consequence turns on whether the ruling resolved the defendant's guilt on the merits. ACQUITTAL vs. NOT GUILTY VERDICT: These terms are often used interchangeably but are not identical. A not-guilty verdict is the jury's finding; an acquittal is the legal status that results from it. Acquittal can also result from judicial action without a jury, such as a judgment of acquittal granted under Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. ACQUITTAL IN FACT vs. ACQUITTAL IN LAW: Anderson's Dictionary draws this distinction explicitly. An acquittal in fact is a direct verdict of not guilty returned by a jury. An acquittal in law arises by operation of law — for example, when a former conviction or acquittal on a related charge bars further prosecution, or when a defendant was too young to be criminally liable. Historical sources treat these as distinct subtypes with different procedural triggers. ---
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES Acquittal in fact. A jury's direct verdict of not guilty. The clearest and most common form. Acquittal in law. Discharge arising by legal implication rather than explicit verdict — including the operation of former jeopardy, legal incapacity, or other bars recognized at common law. ---
Why It Matters in Research
The double jeopardy dimension makes precise identification of acquittals — as opposed to dismissals or mistrials — critical in criminal procedure research. Corpus materials from different eras may use the term loosely, and the constitutional consequences attached to the word shifted as Double Jeopardy doctrine developed through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Researchers should not assume that an early court's use of "acquittal" carries the same constitutional weight as the modern term. The contractual sense is a research trap. Black's (both editions) and Bouvier's lead with the contracts definition before reaching the criminal one, reflecting the historical balance of usage. A researcher scanning digests or early equity records for "acquittal" may surface debt-release instruments, pleading forms, and chancery materials that have nothing to do with criminal liability. Jurisdictional variation matters for the acquittal-in-law category. The scope of what constitutes a legally implied acquittal — and what triggers double jeopardy protection — varies between federal and state courts and across state constitutions. The Law Mind corpus includes materials from multiple jurisdictions; check the source court before applying doctrine. The insanity acquittal is a specialized subtype with significant downstream consequences. A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity is formally an acquittal and bars retrial, but it routinely triggers civil commitment proceedings. Researchers working in forensic mental health or criminal procedure should treat this as a distinct research track. ---
Historical Dictionary Support
The four shelf sources agree on the core criminal definition — discharge from a charge of guilt — and all four preserve the contracts sense alongside it. Bouvier's is most explicit on the civil side, citing Coke's threefold classification of acquittal by deed, by prescription, and by tenure. Black's (both editions) uses nearly identical language across printings, suggesting the definition was stable by the late nineteenth century. Anderson's is the most practically useful of the historical sources for distinguishing subtypes, drawing the acquittal-in-fact / acquittal-in-law line that the other dictionaries elide. It also notes explicitly that acquittal applies to both civil and criminal prosecutions — a reminder that the term had broader procedural reach in earlier practice. What the historical sources collectively miss: they do not address the constitutional double jeopardy analysis that now defines the term's most important legal consequences. Bouvier's and Black's treat acquittal primarily as a status rather than a constitutional trigger. Researchers should not treat these definitions as complete accounts of modern acquittal doctrine. ---
Jurisdictional Note
Federal courts apply Double Jeopardy protection under the Fifth Amendment; state courts apply it through incorporation via the Fourteenth Amendment, but state constitutions may provide broader protection. The scope of what counts as a "functional acquittal" — particularly for directed verdicts and mid-trial rulings — can differ at the state level. Researchers should verify which constitutional provision governs in the relevant jurisdiction. ---
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Insanity Defense and Forensic Mental Health — Legal Standards and Commitment After Acquittal (The Law Mind Health Law & Bioethics Encyclopedia). Essential for researchers examining not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdicts, where acquittal triggers civil commitment analysis rather than release. ---
Related Terms
Not guilty verdict — the jury finding that produces an acquittal in fact Acquittal in fact — direct jury determination of not guilty Acquittal in law — legal implication of discharge without explicit verdict Double jeopardy — constitutional bar to retrial following acquittal Dismissal — procedural termination; compare carefully for double jeopardy purposes Discharge — broader term for release from legal obligation; successor to civil acquittal usage Release — modern equivalent of the contractual acquittal sense Judgment of acquittal — judicial ruling terminating prosecution on the merits (cf. Fed. R. Crim. P. 29) Nolle prosequi — prosecutorial abandonment; distinct from acquittal for double jeopardy purposes Insanity defense — where acquittal carries commitment consequences rather than simple release Jeopardy — the legal exposure that acquittal forecloses
ACQUITTALmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
In contracts. A release, absolution, or discharge from an obligation, liability, or engagement. In criminal practice. The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a per- son who has been charged with crime; a de- liverance or setting free a person from a charge of guilt. The absolution of a party accused on a trial before a traverse jury. 1 Nott & McC. 36; 3 McCord, 461. Acquittals in fact are those which take place when the jury, upon trial, finds & verdict of not guilty. Acquittals in law are those which take place by mere operation of law; as where a man has been charged merely as an accessary, and the principal has been acquitted. 2 Co. Inst. 364. In feudal law. The obligation on the part of a mesne lord to protect his tenant from any claims, entries, or molestations by lords paramount arising out of the services due to them by the mesne lord. See Co. Litt. 100a.
ACQUITTALmain
Bouvier's Law Dictionary • 1928
In Contracts. A re- lease or discharge from an obligation or engagement. According to Lord Coke, there are three kinds of acquittal, namely: by deed, when the party re- leases the obligation; by prescription; by tenure; Co. Litt. 100 α. In Criminal Practice. The absolution of a party charged with a crime or misde- meanor. The absolution of a party accused on a trial before a traverse jury. 1 Nott & McC. 36; 3 McCord, 461. Acquittals in fact are those which take place when the jury, upon trial, finds a verdict of not guilty. Acquittals in law are those which take place by mere operation of law; as where a man has been charged merely as an ac- cessary, and the principal has been ac- quitted; Coke, 2 Inst. 364. An acquittal is a bar to any future prose- cution for the offence alleged in the first indictment. If accused is placed upon trial under a valid indictment before a legal jury, and the latter is discharged by the court with- out good cause and without defendant's con- sent, it is equivalent to an acquittal; 26 Ind. 346; 14 Ohio 295; 6 S. & R. 777; Park. Cr. Rep. 676. When a prisoner has been acquitted, he becomes competent to testify either for the government or for his former co-defend- ants; 7 Cox, Cr. Cas. 341,342. And it is clear, that where a married defendant is entirely removed from the record by a ver- dict pronounced in his favor, his wife may testify either for or against any other per- sons who may be parties to the record; 12 M. & W. 49, 50, per Alderson, B.; 8 Carr. & P. 284; 2 Tayl. Ev. 3d ed. § 1230. See
ACQUITTALmain
Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890
Setting free; deliverance from a charge or suspicion of guilt; the act or action of a jury in finding that a person accused of a crime is not guilty. Acquitted. "Set free or judicially discharged from an accusation; released from a debt, duty, obligation, charge, or suspicion of guilt." 6 Refers to both civil and criminal prosecutions.. Acquittal in fact. A verdict of not guilty. Acquittal in law. A discharge by operation of law; as, where one is held as an accessary and the principal is acquitted.7 Former acquittal. An acquittal in a former prosecution. When the facts constitute but one offense, though divisible into parts, a final judgment on a charge of one part bars a prosecution for another part. When the facts constitute two or more offenses wherein the lesser is necessarily involved in the greater, and the facts necessary to convict on a second prosecution would necessarily have convicted on the first, then the first judgment bars another prosecution.8 The greater includes the lesser crime. Compare CONVICTION, Former. 1 [2 Kent, 355, 386.] 2 Allen v. Ferguson, 18 Wall. 4 (1873). 3 Irvine v. Irvine, 9 Wall. 625 (1869). 4 See Loomis v. Davenport, &c. R. Co., 17 F. R. 305 (1882); 1 Jones, Mortg. § 157. See generally Babcock v. Jones, 15 Kan. 301 (1875), cases; 21 Cent. L. J. 500-3 Pence v. Langdon, 99 U. S. 581 (1878), Swayne, J. See also Matthews v. Murchison, 17 F. R. 766 (1883); (1885), cases. Ramsden v. Dyson, L. R., 1 H. L. 129 (1865). • Swain v. Seamans, 9 Wall. 254, 267, 274 (1869), Clifford, J. L. acquirere, to get, obtain: quaerere, to seek. • Re Millars' Wills, 2 Lea, 61 (1878); Donahue's Estate, 36 Cal. 332 (1868). See 4 Bl. Com. 335. * Dolloway v. Turrill, 26 Wend. 400 (1841): Webster. 7 [2 Coke Inst. 364.] 8 State v. Elder, 65 Ind. 285-86 (1879), cases; 58 N. H. 257; 4 Cr. L. M. 411. 18 Cent. Law J. 392-94 (1884), cases.
ACQUITTALn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
The act of acquitting; discharge from debt or obligation; acquittance. A setting free, or deliverance from the charge of an offense, by verdict of a jury or sentence of a court. Bouvier.
acquittalnoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
The act of fulfilling the duties (of a given role, obligation etc.). | A legal decision that someone is not guilty with which they have been charged, or the formal dismissal of a charge by some other legal process. | Payment of a debt or other obligation; reparations, amends. | The act of releasing someone from debt or other obligation; acquittance. | Avoidance of danger; deliverance.

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