acquittal

acquittal
/euh kwit"l/, n.
1. the act of acquitting; discharge.
2. the state of being acquitted; release.
3. the discharge or settlement of a debt, obligation, etc.
4. Law. judicial deliverance from a criminal charge on a verdict or finding of not guilty.
[1400-50; late ME a(c)quitaille < AF; see ACQUIT, -AL2]

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▪ law
      in criminal law, acknowledgment by the court of the innocence of the defendant or defendants. Such a judgment may be made by a jury in a trial or by a judge who rules that there is insufficient evidence either for conviction or for further proceedings. An acquittal removes all guilt in law. An acquittal “in fact” occurs when a jury finds the defendant not guilty. An acquittal “in law” occurs through the mere operation of law. For instance, if the principal in a case is acquitted, an accessory also is deemed acquitted in law.

      Acquittal has other meanings. In the Middle Ages it was an obligation of an intermediate lord to protect his tenants against interference from his own overlord. The term is also used in contract law to signify a discharge or release from an obligation.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • acquittal — ac·quit·tal /ə kwit əl/ n 1: release or discharge from debt or other liability 2: a setting free or deliverance from the charge of an offense by verdict of a jury, judgment of a court, or other legal process see also implied acquittal; judgment… …   Law dictionary

  • Acquittal — Ac*quit tal, n. 1. The act of acquitting; discharge from debt or obligation; acquittance. [1913 Webster] 2. (Law) A setting free, or deliverance from the charge of an offense, by verdict of a jury or sentence of a court. Bouvier. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • acquittal — (n.) early 15c., payment of debt or retribution; see ACQUIT (Cf. acquit) + AL (Cf. al) (2). Sense of a release from debt or obligation is from mid 15c.; that of freeing from charge or offense (by legal process) is from 1530s …   Etymology dictionary

  • acquittal — [n] declaration removing blame absolution, acquitting, amnesty, clearance, deliverance, discharge, discharging, dismissal, dismissing, exculpation, exemption, exoneration, freeing, letting off, liberation, pardon, release, releasing, relief from …   New thesaurus

  • acquittal — [ə kwit′ l] n. [ME aquital < Anglo Fr aquitaille: see ACQUIT] 1. an acquitting; discharge (of duty, obligation, etc.) 2. Law a setting free or being set free by judgment of the court …   English World dictionary

  • Acquittal — Not Guilty redirects here. For the song, see Not Guilty (song). Criminal procedure …   Wikipedia

  • acquittal — noun VERB + ACQUITTAL ▪ return (BrE), vote for (AmE) ▪ The jury returned an acquittal after only 22 minutes. ▪ She claimed she had been intimidated into voting for acquittal. ▪ direct (BrE) …   Collocations dictionary

  • Acquittal — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Acquittal >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 acquittal acquittal acquitment Sgm: N 1 clearance clearance exculpation Sgm: N 1 acquittance acquittance clearance exoneration Sgm: N 1 discharge discharge …   English dictionary for students

  • acquittal — n. (legal) to bring in an acquittal (the jury brought in an acquittal) * * * [ə kwɪtl] (legal) to bring in an acquittal (the jury brought in an acquittal) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • acquittal — [[t]əkwɪ̱t(ə)l[/t]] acquittals N VAR Acquittal is a formal declaration in a court of law that someone who has been accused of a crime is innocent. ...the acquittal of six police officers charged with the beating of an alleged drug dealer... The… …   English dictionary

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