Not proven | Legal Issues in Scotland Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia
Not proven is a
verdict available to a
court in
Scotland.
Under
Scots law, a
criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts: one of
conviction ("proven") and two of
acquittal ("not proven" and "not guilty"). Historically, the two verdicts available to Scots
juries were that the case had been "proven" or "not proven". However in a dramatic case in 1728 the jury asserted "its ancient right" to bring in a "not guilty" verdict even when the facts of the case were proven (see
jury nullification). As the "not guilty" verdict gained wide acceptance amongst Scots juries, Scots began to use "not guilty" in cases where the jury felt the "not proven" verdict did not adequately express the innocence of the defendant.