"Not proven", der er en af tre mulige skyldkendelser, hvoraf de to andre er "guilty" (dansk: skyldig) og "not guilty" (dansk: ikke skyldig), har samme retsvirkning som "not guilty", idet tiltalte frifindes for anklagen.[1] Imidlertid antages det, at "not guilty" anvendes når dommeren eller juryen er overbevist om, at tiltalte ikke begik forbrydelsen, mens "not proven" anvendes når dommeren og juryen ikke anser tiltaltes skyld for tilstrækkeligt godtgjort.[2] Dette udlægges ofte sådan, at dommeren eller juryen, tror, at tiltalte er skyldig, men anerkender, at der ikke er tilstrækkelige beviser herfor.[3]
^Barbato 2005, s. 545: "[...] reasonable doubt as to the accused's guilt [...] the accused's guilt has not been conclusively demonstrated." (med henvisning til Duff 1996, s. 6, og Duff 1999, s. 193).
^Chalmers, Leverick & Munro 2021, s. 161-162: "[N]ot proven means that the jury believe that the accused is guilty but that the evidence is insufficient for conviction [...] the suggestion being that a not proven verdict may indicate that the jury in fact believes the prosecution case but does not believe that the necessary supporting evidence exists."
Barbato, Joseph M. (2005). "Scotland's Bastard Verdict: Intermediacy and the Unique Three-Verdict System". Indiana International & Comparative Law Review. 15 (3): 543-581.
Chalmers, James; Leverick, Fiona; Munro, Vanessa E. (2021). "A Modern History of the Not Proven Verdict". Edinburgh Law Review. 25 (2): 151-172. doi:10.3366/elr.2021.0692.
Duff, Peter (1996). "The Not Proven Verdict: Jury Mythology and 'Moral Panics'". Juridical Review. 41 (1): 1-12.
Duff, Peter (1999). "The Scottish Criminal Jury: A Very Peculiar Institution". Law and Contemporary Problems. 62 (2): 173-201. doi:10.2307/1192256.