Alicia Garza

Black Lives Matter started from a post that I put on Facebook after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. I woke up in the middle of the night sobbing, just trying to process what had happened and wanting to find community around being in a lot of grief and having a lot of rage.

American Activist

Sterling K. Brown

Johnnie Cochran was such a heroic figure for getting the acquittal of O.J. Simpson, and the acquittal was such a historical event because it was the first time that I'd seen somebody who looked like me have the criminal justice system work in their favor rather than against.

American Actor

Jim Garrison

I always received much more satisfaction as a defense attorney in obtaining an acquittal for a client than I ever have as a D.A. in obtaining a conviction. All my interests and sympathies tend to be on the side of the individual as opposed to the state.

American Public Servant

Cesare Beccaria

For every criminal case, the judge must construct a perfect syllogism: the major premise must be the general law; the minor premise, whether or not the action in question is in compliance with the law; and the conclusion, acquittal or punishment.

Italian Judge

Barbara Amiel

Among those people lucky enough, if you will, to have actually been brought to trial as a political prisoner, several historians have said there has not been one acquittal since the Bolshevik Revolution.

British Journalist

Dominick Dunne

I made no pretense of doing balanced reporting about murder. I was appalled by defense attorneys who would do anything to win an acquittal for a guilty person.

American Journalist

F. Lee Bailey

Among the rednecks of America, which there are many more than people seem to realize, it was terribly damaging. I got blamed for O.J.'s acquittal.

American Lawyer

Martin Shkreli

I have this fringe theory that I've sort of stress-tested a little bit - the more polarising and popular a case is, the more likely an acquittal.

Albanian Businessman

Steve Rushin

At its root, 'quit' means 'to set free' - think of an acquittal in a court of law - and to quit is often to be liberated.

Refers to a legal verdict where a person is found not guilty in a court of law.

Legal Innocence

Acquittal is a possible outcome in a criminal trial, alongside conviction.

Judicial Outcome

An acquittal doesn't always mean the person didn't commit the crime but that there wasn't enough proof.

Not Always Innocent

Used in financial contexts to mean release from a debt or other financial obligation.

Debt Release

Can indicate the removal of a responsibility or duty one was previously held to.

Responsibility Absence

In non-legal contexts, it can imply someone is morally free from blame or responsibility.

Moral Implication

 it's only the formal accusation that launches a trial, which could end in conviction or acquittal. Originating in the United Kingdom, impeachment allowed Parliament to vote for removing a government official from office even without the king's consent. Although this was an important check on royal power,

How does impeachment...

 And the results have been remarkable. We've seen charges get dismissed, sentences significantly reduced, acquittals won at trial and, sometimes, it has been literally lifesaving.