![Eureka Rebellion Prisoners Released](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Eureka_Rebellion_Prisoners_Released.jpg)
In
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the United States, an acquittal operates to bar the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engl ...
or results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused. In other countries, the prosecuting authority may appeal an acquittal similar to how a defendant may appeal a conviction.
Scotland
Scots law
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...
has two acquittal verdicts: ''not guilty'' and ''
not proven
Not proven (, ) is a verdict available to a Courts of Scotland, court of law in Scotland. Under Scots law, a Criminal procedure, criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts, one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal ("not proven" and ...
''. However a verdict of "not proven" does not give rise to the double jeopardy rule.
England and Wales
In England and Wales, which share a common legal system, the
Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide-ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland a ...
creates an
exception to the double jeopardy rule, by providing that retrials may be ordered if "new and compelling evidence" comes to light after an acquittal for a serious crime. Also, the
Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996
The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 or CPIA Abbreviation used in Ministry of JusticeCriminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (section 23(1)) Code of Practice published March 2015, accessed 29 October 2022 is a piece of sta ...
permits a "tainted acquittal" to be set aside in circumstances where it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that an acquittal has been obtained by violence or threats of violence to a witness or juror/s.
In modern England and Wales, and in all countries that substantially follow English criminal procedure, an acquittal normally results in the immediate liberation of the defendant from custody, assuming no other charges against the defendant remain to be tried. However, until 1774 a defendant acquitted by an English or Welsh court would be remanded to
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
until he had paid the jailer for the costs of his confinement. It was known for acquitted persons to die in jail for lack of jailer's fees.
United States
With one exception, in the United States an acquittal cannot be appealed by the prosecution because of constitutional prohibitions against
double jeopardy
In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...
. The
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
has ruled:
:If the judgment is upon an acquittal, the defendant, indeed, will not seek to have it reversed, and the government cannot. ''
U.S. v. Sanges'', 144 U.S. 310 (1892). ''
Ball v. U.S.'', 163 U.S. 662, 671 (1896)
:A verdict of acquittal, although not followed by any judgment, is a bar to a subsequent prosecution for the same offense. ''Ball'', supra, at 672.
:Society's awareness of the heavy personal strain which a criminal trial represents for the individual defendant is manifested in the willingness to limit the Government to a single criminal proceeding to vindicate its very vital interest in enforcement of criminal laws. ''
United States v. Jorn'', 400 U.S. 470, 479 (1971)
:Whether the trial is to a jury or, as here, to the bench, subjecting the defendant to postacquittal factfinding proceedings going to guilt or innocence violates the
Double Jeopardy Clause
The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: ''" r shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..."'' The four essential protections included a ...
. ''
Smalis v. Pennsylvania'', 476 U.S. 140 (1986)
It was decided in ''
Fong Foo v. United States'', 369 U.S. 141 (1962) that the prosecution cannot appeal a judgment of acquittal by a jury. In ''
United States v. Jenkins'', 420 U.S. 358 (1975), this was held applicable to bench trials. In ''
Arizona v. Rumsey
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
'', 467 U.S. 203 (1984), it was ruled that in a bench trial, when a judge was holding a separate hearing after the jury trial, to decide if the defendant should be sentenced to death or
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
, the judge decided that the circumstances of the case did not permit death to be imposed. On appeal, the judge's ruling was found to be erroneous. However, even though the decision to impose a life sentence instead of death was based on the judge's erroneous interpretation of the law, the finding of life imprisonment in the original case constituted an acquittal of the death penalty. Thus death could not be imposed upon a subsequent trial. Even though the acquittal of the death penalty was erroneous in that case, the acquittal must stand.
The only exception to an acquittal being final is if the defendant was never in actual jeopardy. If a defendant bribes a judge and obtains acquittal as a result of a bench trial, the acquittal is invalid because the defendant was never in jeopardy in the first place. ''
Harry Aleman v. Judges of the Criminal Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, et al.'', 138 F.3d 302 (7th Cir. 1998).
''Harry Aleman v. Judges of the Criminal Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, et al.'', 138 F.3d 302 (7th Cir. 1998)
/ref>
An acquittal, while conclusive as to the criminal law, does not necessarily bar private civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
actions in tort
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
or on some other grounds as a result of the facts alleged in the charge. For example, the City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
was held liable in 1994 for the 1991 Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
beating despite state acquittals in 1992 of all four of its four main LAPD defendants, and in 1997 O. J. Simpson was held civilly liable for wrongful death
Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, ...
even after being tried and acquitted in 1995 of murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
. An acquittal also does not bar prosecution for the same offenses under a statute of a different jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, someone acquitted of a state murder charge can be retried for the same actions on a federal charge of violating civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
, and police acquitted of a state charge of felonious assault, as in the Rodney King case, can likewise be tried on federal civil rights charges.
See also
* Criminal trials that ended in acquittal
References
{{Authority control
Criminal procedure