Not Guilty - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition not-guilty

Definition :

Not guilty, a plea by way of traverse which occurred in actions of trespass, libel, or other tort, and amounted to a denial only of the breach of duty or wrongful act alleged to have been committed by the defendant; this was called pleading the 'general issue.' See PLEADING.

The plea of not guilty, jin criminal proceedings, is the proper form wherever a prisoner means either to deny or justify the charge in the indictment; the effect of which plea is, that on the one hand, it puts the prosecutor to the proof of every material fact alleged in the indictment or information, and on the other it entitles the defendant to avail himself of any defensive circumstances as amply as if he had pleaded them in a specific form.