

today! Call our office at (630) 324-6666, or schedule a consultation. If you need assistance with criminal charges or would like to further understand the Court’s findings, contact an experienced criminal law attorney at O’Flaherty Law, P.C. A reduction in charges may also result if the defendant enters into a plea deal agreement. For example, a prosecutor can choose to charge a defendant with a misdemeanor offense as opposed to a felony. This occurs when the judge or prosecutor decide to charge the defendant with a lesser offense. Reduction in ChargesĪ reduction in charges is an entirely different matter. At any rate, a dismissal also does not necessarily indicate innocence. The defendant essentially avoids having to stand trial. A dismissal can also be requested when some procedural violations occur, such as a mistake made by the prosecutor or police officers involved. A dismissal takes place before a jury trial, and occurs because the prosecutor either did not have enough evidence, or the judge decided that the case lacked credibility. Dismissalīoth of these terms are different than a dismissal. A person may, however, be acquitted of criminal charges for an infraction and held civilly liable for the same action. If a defendant is acquitted, a doctrine known as ‘double jeopardy’ attaches, and the defendant cannot be retried for the same charges in the same jurisdiction. Acquittal does not necessarily mean that the defendant is innocent of the crime charged, only that the prosecutor did not successfully prove that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This occurs after the defendant is brought up on charges and found not guilty. AcquittalĪn acquittal is technically the finding that a defendant is not guilty. This occurs when a defendant is charged with a crime, evidence is presented, and the fact finder, either the judge or jury, find that the defendant should not be held responsible for the crime. It does not represent a finding that the. ‘Not guilty’ means that the defendant is not legally answerable for the criminal charges filed against him or her. An acquittal in a criminal case means that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Have you, or someone you know, ever been charged with a crime, but not held responsible for one reason or another? In this article we discuss the differences between various court findings, including:
