We at Whitt, Cooper & Hedrick love hearing these two words. We work hard to earn these two words from juries. We have been fortunate to earn this verdict on many occasions. Some believe that being found not guilty is the same as being found innocent. Sometimes it does. But sometimes it means that the defense has cast a reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
The judge always tells the jury if they have a reasonable doubt they must return a verdict of not guilty. In Scotland the jury can return one of two verdicts: guilty or not proven. Not proven is perhaps more descriptive of the failure of the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. . .
NOT GUILTY.