# Criminal Justice Act 1967, Section 17: Entry of verdict of not guilty by order of a judge.

Extent: E+W

Where a defendant arraigned on an indictment or inquisition pleads not guilty and the prosecutor proposes to offer no evidence against him, the court before which the defendant is arraigned may, if it thinks fit, order that a verdict of not guilty shall be recorded without any further steps being taken in the proceedings, and the verdict shall have the same effect as if the defendant had been tried and acquitted on the verdict of a jury or a court.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/80/section/17 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-act-1967/section-17
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.