Meaning & use
declare not guilty
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phraselegallaw
To state officially in a court that someone is not responsible for a crime.
Grammar: Usually used as 'declare someone not guilty'; the person comes between 'declare' and 'not guilty'.
Patterns
- declare someone not guilty
- declare someone not guilty of something
- be declared not guilty
The judge declared the defendant not guilty after the key witness changed his story.
She was declared not guilty of fraud and walked free from court.
The jury took only two hours to declare him not guilty.
phrasefixed phraselegallaw
To announce formally that a person did not commit the act they were accused of.
Grammar: Often used in passive structures: 'The accused was declared not guilty.'
Patterns
- be declared not guilty
- declare someone not guilty of a charge
After a long trial, he was declared not guilty on all charges.
The court declared her not guilty of the theft.
Common combinations
- declare someone not guilty
- The judge declared the man not guilty.
- be declared not guilty
- She was declared not guilty of all charges.
- declare someone not guilty of something
- They declared him not guilty of murder.
- plead not guilty
- He decided to plead not guilty at the hearing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- acquit
- A more technical legal verb meaning to officially decide someone is not guilty; 'acquit' is often used in passive ('was acquitted'), while 'declare not guilty' is a direct phrase.
- clear
- Means to show someone is not guilty, often used in news reports; it focuses on removing suspicion rather than the formal court decision.
Opposites
Word family
- declaration noun
- A formal statement or announcement.
- declared adjective
- Officially announced or stated.
Commonly confused: declare not guilty or plead not guilty?
declare not guilty vs plead not guilty
This means the accused person says they did not commit the crime, while 'declare not guilty' is the court's official decision.
Practice
The judge ______ the defendant not guilty after hearing all the evidence.
Choose one answer.
The past tense 'declared' fits because the sentence describes a completed action in the past. 'Declares' is present tense and would not match the past-time context; 'declaring' is a participle and needs an auxiliary; 'declaration' is a noun and cannot take an object here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “declare not guilty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.