acquittance n : a legal document evidencing the discharge of a debt or obligation [syn: release]

Acquittance \Ac*quit"tance\, n. [OF. aquitance, fr. aquiter. See Acquit.]
1. The clearing off of debt or obligation; a release or discharge from debt or other liability.
2. A writing which is evidence of a discharge; a receipt in full, which bars a further demand. You can produce acquittances For such a sum, from special officers. --Shak.

Acquittance \Ac*quit"tance\, v. t. To acquit. [Obs.] --Shak.

In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the innocence of the accused, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi. Under the rules of double jeopardy and autrefois acquit, an acquittal operates to bar the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new evidence surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a jury verdict, or whether it results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused.

Scots law has two acquittal verdicts: not guilty and not proven. However a verdict of "not proven" does not give rise to the double jeopardy rule.

In England and Wales, which share a common legal system, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 creates an exception to the double jeopardy rule, by providing that retrials may be ordered if "new and compelling evidence" comes to light after an acquittal for a serious crime. Also the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 permits a "tainted acquittal" to be set aside in circumstances where it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that an acquittal has been obtained by violence or threats of violence to a witness or juror/s.

• Inquiry defends Israeli fatal airstrike in Gaza - Xinhua News Agency
  The inquiry into whether the IDF committed criminal negligence and intentional targeting of civilians during the bombing that destructed the building in which the Samouri family lived in January 2009, resulted in the acquittance of those involved ... Read more on this news related to 'Acquittance'
• Teen charged in grandparents' murders arrested in Cedar Rapids - Iowa City Press-Citizen
  When authorities caught up with him, Sweet tried to run but was apprehended. According to a criminal complaint, Sweet told an acquittance in a telephone conversation Friday that he had drugged his grandparents and believed them to be dead ... Read more on this news related to 'Acquittance'