proven

Not proven (Scots: No pruiven, Scottish Gaelic: gun dearbhadh) is a verdict available to a court in Scotland. Under Scots law, a criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts: one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal ("not proven" and "not guilty").Between the Restoration in the late 17th century and the early 18th century, jurors in Scotland were expected only to find whether individual factual allegations were proven or not proven, rather than to rule on an accused's guilt. In 1728, the jury in a murder trial asserted "its ancient right" to declare a defendant "not guilty". Over time, the "not guilty" verdict regained wide acceptance and use amongst Scots juries, with the encouragement of defence lawyers. It eventually displaced "not proven" as the primary verdict of acquittal. Nowadays, juries can return a verdict of either "not guilty" or "not proven", with the same legal effect of acquittal.Although historically it may be a similar verdict to not guilty, nowadays the general feeling is that if a jury returns the verdict of not proven there is a belief that they believe the defendant guilty but the crown has not provided sufficient evidence and in Scots law corroboration is required, as the evidence of a single witness however credible is not sufficient to prove a charge against an accused or to establish any material or crucial fact.
Out of the country, the "not proven" verdict may be referred to as the Scottish verdict, and in Scotland itself it may be referred to colloquially as the bastard verdict, which was a term coined by Sir Walter Scott, who was sheriff in the court of Selkirk.

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