Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Guilt
n. The fact or state of having committed a wrong, esp. a crime <the state's burden was to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt>. Cf. INNOCENCE.
Guiltless
adj. Free from guilt; not having committed a wrong <guiltless of the crime>. 2. Having the quality or appearance of innocence <even though she confessed, the defendant looked guiltless>.
Guilty
n. 1. A plea of a criminal defendant who does not contest the charges. 2. A jury verdict convicting the defendant of the crime charged.
guilty but mentally ill
A form of verdict in a criminal case whereby the jury rejects the defendant's insanity defense but still recommends psychiatric treatment because the defendant is mentally ill. - Abbr. GBMI; GMI. - Also termed guilty but insane; guilty of the act, but so insane as not to be responsible. See INSANITY DEFENSE.
guilty mind.
See MENS REA.
guilty plea
An accused person's formal admission in court of having committed the charged offense. ( A guilty plea is usu. part of a plea bargain. It must be made voluntarily, and only after the accused has been informed of and understands his or her rights. A guilty plea ordinarily has the same effect as a guilty verdict and conviction after a trial on the merits.
guilty plea.
See PLEA (1).
guilty verdict
A jury's formal pronouncement that a defendant is guilty of the charged offense.
not guilty
1. Criminal law. A defendant's plea denying the crime charged. 2. A jury verdict acquitting the defendant because the prosecution failed to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
not guilty by reason of insanity
1. A notguilty verdict, based on mental illness, that usu. does not release the defendant but instead results in commitment to a mental institution. 2. A criminal defendant's plea of not guilty that is based on the insanity defense. See INSANITY DEFENSE. - Also termed not guilty on the ground of insanity. - Abbr. NGRI. See INSANITY DEFENSE. 3. Common-law pleading. A defendant's plea denying both an act of trespass alleged in a plaintiff's declaration and the plaintiff's right to possess the property at issue.
not guilty by statute
Hist. Under certain acts of Parliament, the pleading form for a defendant's general denial in a civil action. ( This pleading form allowed a public officer to indicate action under a statute. The officer had to write the words "by statute" in the margin along with the year, chapter, and section of the applicable statute, and the defendant could not file any other defense without leave of court. The right to plead "not guilty by statute" was essentially removed by the Public Authorities Protection Act of 1893. 4. A general denial in an ejectment action. "The general issue in ejectment is not guilty. This plea operates as follows: (1) As a denial of the unlawfulness of the withholding; i.e., of the plaintiff's title and right of possession. (2) All defenses in excuse or discharge, including the statute of limitations, are available under the general issue in ejectment." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Law Pleading ยง 188, at 333 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923).
not-guilty plea
See PLEA (1;