acquitted

Acquitted describes the outcome of a criminal case in which the court delivers a judgment of acquittal — that is, the defendant is not found guilty of the charge brought against them and therefore receives no punishment. Under Danish criminal law the concept is central and reflects a fundamental legal principle: doubt must benefit the defendant. If the prosecution cannot produce sufficient proof of guilt, the court must acquit.

An acquittal does not mean that the court has positively established that the defendant is innocent — only that the evidence of guilt was not sufficient for a conviction. This distinction was particularly visible in cases such as the Casey Anthony case, where an acquittal was followed by extensive public debate about what the verdict actually meant.

Legally, an acquitted person is not convicted and must be treated accordingly. In Danish law, the consequences of an acquittal follow the provisions of the Danish Administration of Justice Act (retsplejeloven) on the determination of criminal cases. An acquitted defendant can as a rule require the costs of the case to be paid by the state treasury and has a right to compensation for time spent in pre-trial detention, where relevant.

After a final acquittal, the prosecution service cannot as a rule bring a new charge for the same offence. This principle — ne bis in idem — is protected both in Danish procedural law and in international human rights conventions. Reopening a case to the detriment of an acquitted person is possible only under narrow conditions (retsplejeloven § 976).