What does not guilty mean in a criminal trial? This is the age of “innocent until proven guilty.” This has resulted in many innocent people being incarcerated for long periods of time, sometimes even life. The United States Supreme Court has declared that the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution protects the rights of individuals against self-incrimination.

What does not mean anything in a criminal trial is a verdict of not guilty: It is not really a verdict at all. A verdict of not guilty is merely a statement by the jury stating that they are not sure that the defendant committed the charged crime. They could be thinking about a number of factors, including the innocence or guilt, or just stating their inability to determine. The fact that the verdict is not a verdict does not affect the legal rights of the accused.

What does not mean anything in a criminal trial: is if the defendant is found not guilty by a juror’s vote. Once a jury has reached a verdict, the judge will declare a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The jurors have no power to change this decision. This means that once the jury foreman has declared a guilty verdict, it cannot be changed at a later court proceeding.

So what does not mean anything in a criminal trial: is whether or not a defendant is found guilty, or not guilty. Whether or not a person is guilty has very little to do with the issue of what does not guilty mean. The issue of what does not guilty mean is more about what should happen after the jury concludes its deliberations. If a jury concludes that a defendant is not guilty then that verdict must be accepted. Otherwise, the case must be re-opened and the jury must start again with a new panel.

In order for a jury to re-induce a person as not guilty: there must be reasonable doubt about the person’s guilt. Reasonable doubt is not just a vague sense of doubt. The jury must be certain that the defendant is not innocent. Otherwise there would have been no need to start again with the jury. The issue of what does not guilty mean becomes more significant when there is doubt about a fact or even a possibility that changes the nature of the case and the evidence available to the jury.

To illustrate what does not guilty mean, consider this example: Suppose that there was a capital murder trial. There were three men charged with the murder. One man was the witnesses for the state and another for the defense. Even though both men provided testimony for the state, there was considerable doubt as to which man committed the crime.

The jury could not reasonably assume that the man on the defense had anything to do with the crime.