Both Uses of
acquit
in
The Idiot
- Oh! it was the Kolpakoff business, and of course he would have been acquitted.†
Chpt 1.8 *
- Their children are sometimes congenital idiots, like the hero of our story; sometimes they are found in the dock at the Assizes, where they are generally acquitted by the jury for edifying motives; sometimes they distinguish themselves by one of those burning scandals that amaze the public and add another blot to the stained record of our age.†
Chpt 2.8
Definition:
-
(acquit as in: she was acquitted) to officially find "not guilty" of criminal chargeseditor's notes: Note that to be acquitted is not the same as being declared innocent of an offense due to the presumption of innocence in the American judicial system. The court determines if there is sufficient evidence to find someone guilty. Some crimes require a lot of evidence for a conviction, so while there may not be enough evidence to declare someone guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, there also may not be enough evidence to declare a defendant innocent except through the presumption of innocence.