Plea

In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that person pleaded guilty, not guilty, no contest or (in the United States) Alford plea.

The concept of the plea is one of the major differences between criminal procedure under common law and procedure under the civil law system. Under common law, a plea of guilty by the defendant waives trial of the charged offences and the defendant may be sentenced immediately. This produces a system known under American law as plea bargaining.

In civil law jurisdictions, there is generally no concept of a plea of guilty. A confession by the defendant is treated like any other piece of evidence, and a full confession does not prevent a full trial from occurring or relieve the plaintiff(s) from its duty of presenting a case to the trial court.

Not guilty

Not guilty may refer to:

Not Guilty (1919 film)

Not Guilty is a 1919 British silent comedy crime film directed by Arrigo Bocchi and starring Kenelm Foss, Charles Vane and Hayford Hobbs. A barrister takes on his own case when he has to defend himself in court for tricking a millionaire out of money for a good cause.

Cast

References

Bibliography

External links

Not Guilty (song)

"Not Guilty" is a song by English musician George Harrison released on his 1979 album George Harrison. He wrote the song in 1968 following the Beatles' Transcendental Meditation course in India with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and its lyrics refer to Harrison's relationship with his bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney as a result of that experience. The Beatles recorded the song for the White Album in August 1968 but abandoned the track after several days' work, logging 99 takes. This last take appeared on the Anthology 3 compilation in 1996, as "Take 102".

Harrison revisited "Not Guilty" in 1978 during sessions for his eponymous solo album. Unlike the Beatles' original, which featured distorted electric guitar and harpsichord, the remake used acoustic guitar and was softer in tone.

Background and composition

George Harrison wrote "Not Guilty" in 1968 following the Beatles' Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India. As the Beatle who had been most interested in attending teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's course, Harrison felt responsible for his bandmates' experience there.Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney had each left the ashram early and returned to England, while Harrison and John Lennon stayed on, only to then depart hurriedly after hearing of alleged impropriety between the Maharishi and a female student. In an interview with Billboard editor Timothy White in 1999, Harrison referred to "the grief I was catching" from Lennon and McCartney post-India, and explained the message behind the song: "I said I wasn't guilty of getting in the way of their career. I said I wasn't guilty of leading them astray in our going to Rishikesh to see the Maharishi. I was sticking up for myself …"