Acquittal is a verdict in which a person is not guilty of the crimes they were accused of. It offers protection against double jeopardy but not from new charges. An acquittal should clear a person of suspicion and any consequences. However, it does not offer protection from civil damages.
The decision in a court case is referred to as the verdict. Acquittal is a possible verdict in a criminal case. It means that a person is not guilty of the crimes he has been accused of.
When a person is accused of a crime, both the accuser and the defendant have the opportunity to present their positions during the trial. Once all the testimony has been heard and all the evidence has been entered, a final decision usually needs to be made. In case of acquittal, the final decision is that the defendant is innocent.
A jury is not needed for a person to receive an acquittal. There are many trials without a jury. When this is the case, a judge delivers the verdict.
Absolution offers the person protection against double jeopardy. This means that he can never be tried again for the same case. However, an acquittal offers him no protection from the exact charges brought against him if he is found to have committed new acts.
For example, consider a man named Paul who is accused of robbing a woman named Cheryl on March 1, 2009. If Paul goes to trial and receives an acquittal, he can never be tried again for robbing Cheryl on March 1, 2009. This is true even if solid evidence that he is guilty emerges some time later. If Cheryl is robbed on December 13, 2009 and Paul is a suspect, he could be charged and prosecuted for this new incident.
An acquittal should clear a person of all suspicion and any outstanding consequences that would have accompanied a guilty verdict. The law cannot actually erase doubt from everyone’s mind, but it can compel some entities to act as if suspicion has been erased despite true feelings. This means that if the person was imprisoned during the trial, they should be released once acquitted. It also means that if a person is suspended by his employer pending the outcome of his trial, he should be reinstated in his previous position.
The infamous OJ Simpson trial is a good example of the kind of security an acquittal doesn’t offer, which is protection from civil damages. Even if a person is found innocent in a criminal case, they can still face civil suits related to the same incident. Simpson was acquitted of the murder charge in criminal court, but was found liable for damages in civil court.
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