History Main / NotProven

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Film]]
* The film ''WesternAnimation/LovingVincent'' leans on recent theorizing that Vincent van Gogh's death was not a suicide when Armand Roulin is tasked with delivering one of Vincent's letters to Theo van Gogh and ends up in Auvers (the place Vincent died). The doctor who examined van Gogh talks a great deal about angles and distance, and Armand finds circumstantial evidence that the shooting might have happened somewhere other than the wheatfield; meanwhile Vincent's therapist Dr. Gachet insists it was suicide. Though Armand concludes that it was an accidental shooting which Vincent lied about, there's not enough evidence (and he's not a policeman anyway), and Gachet's view is sincere because [[ItsAllMyFault he blames himself]].
* ''Film/InTheFade'': André and Edda Möller's trial ends in their acquittals, because the judges find there's enough reasonable doubt that it's required. The chief judge however is explicit that they do ''not'' believe them innocent.

* [[Literature/HarryPotter Sirius Black]] became an example of this trope in "My Parents' Secret Keeper". He got acquitted but the wizarding world believed him to be guilty. Dumbledore was so afraid Sirius would go after Harry he even asked Remus Lupin to spy on him. Fortunately, while Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley (who was the Minister of Magic in that fic) were trying to persuade Lupin into spying, Percy appeared to tell Arthur about Scabbers being missing (Peter wouldn't stick around with an acquitted Sirius around) and the way Percy described Scabbers to Remus made the werewolf know the truth.
** This was not the only fic where Sirius becomes an example of the trope. In "These Grim Bones", because Fudge was afraid Sirius might have revealed some of the muggles caught at the explosion could have been saved had the obliviators noticed them, all Sirius could do was answer questions regarding his own guilt. Namely, he said he didn't kill Pettigrew, he didn't kill those muggles and didn't betray the Potters to Voldemort. Despite the fact Sirius stated it while under Veritaserum, Dumbledore still believed Sirius to be guilty and, being unable to prevent Sirius' acquittal, persuaded Fudge into sending a Hit Wizard to (officially) protect Sirius from people who might decide to take justice on their own hands but (extra-officially) find and report evidence to send Sirius back to Azkaban. Fortunately, the witch who took the job was Amelia Bones, who did it so the job wouldn't be taken by someone who, hoping for a quick promotion, would forge evidence. She believes Sirius to be guilty but she's too honest to approve convicting anyone (even a Death Eater) on false evidence.
** In "Growing Up Black", when some relatives of Sirius Black found out he was never allowed to plead his case in a trial, his maternal Grandfather argued at the Wizengamot that Dumbledore's testimony was just hearsay and testimony from muggles was inadmissible. Then, when asked if he wanted Sirius to be given a trial, his Grandfather instead invoked a law stating that, as a pureblood, Sirius shouldn't be forced to stay in Azkaban for more than 30 days without a trial and, because he was, the charges he'd been sent there for should be dropped. People who still believe Sirius to be guilty usually state he got OffOnATechnicality.
** In "Three Dursleys, a Potter and a Black", Sirius was acquitted and Dumbledore mentioned the blood protection so Harry wouldn't be taken away from the Dursleys. Taking advantage of the fact that Dumbledore never ordered him not to move into Privet Drive and that the Dursleys love money more than they hate magic, Sirius moved into their home. When Dumbledore found out Sirius reached Harry and the Dursleys despite the wards keeping them from being found by anyone meaning to harm Harry, he assumed Sirius used some dark magic to get past the wards.

** One case of ''VisualNovel/DaiGyakutenSaiban'' involves this, but in a twist [[spoiler: it's your client who gets off on this... right as Ryunosuke (Phoenix's ancestor) starts thinking he may be guilty after all. Unfortunately, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero he's done such a good job defending his client that the judge and jury feel there isn't enough evicence to be certain of the defendant's guilt]], and the trial ends in a Not Guilty verdict. Turns out he ''is'' guilty after all... [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty but he's promptly murdered right after he walks free]]]].

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', it was revealed that, when Voldemort killed his Muggle relatives, the residents of the village where they lived were sure the victims' gardener, Frank Bryce, was the murderer, despite the police having to release Bryce due to being unable to prove the victims were murdered in the first place (the Killing Curse doesn't leave marks that can be detected by non-magical forensics). He lived under suspicion for the rest of his life.

* In the MegaCrossover FanWebcomic ''Webcomic/{{Roommates}}'' (for a lesser extent in its SpinOff ''Webcomic/GirlsNextDoor'', because there he doesn't even bother covering up) Jareth's (and by extension his family's) involvement in any shenanigans and pranks ever can be summed up with this[[note]]They have magic, the others can't do much to counter that.[[/note]].

* A major motif of almost any Franchise/AceAttorney game is being on the cusp of this trope and having to pull out a SmokingGun or otherwise catch the criminal before the case is finished, but one particular case plays this trope entirely straight ''and it's still a victory''. [[spoiler:In Phoenix Wright: Justice for All, during the final case of the game "Farewell, My Turnabout, a significant part of the case is proving your client, Matt Engarde, is not guilty of murdering his co-star. At first Phoenix does his best to believe his client's innocence, however the evidence keeps piling up until Engarde secretly reveals he ''did'' kill the man. He hired the assassin Shelly de Killer to commit the murder, and has de Killer kidnap Maya Fey, effectively forcing Phoenix to find him innocent, however Phoenix manages to completely 180 the situation. Using the transceiver in the courtroom, Phoenix contacts the hidden assassin in front of the coutroom and [[AssassinsAreAlwaysBetrayed reveals that "his client" has evidence of his murder as blackmail]]. De Killer, [[ProfessionalKiller who works on a strict honor system]], immediately lets Maya go and prepares to kill Engarde when he next sees him. Engarde, clearly aware that he is a dead-man-walking, is found innocent by the prosecution, and you can have Phoenix also admit he sees nothing wrong with the verdict and agreeing with Edgeworth. There is no evidence Engarde committed the crime, no effective or tangible evidence as a smoking gun, and no admission of guilt. For all intents and purposes, you've done exactly what Engarde wants... except now he has a hitman after him and he panics. Engarde is found not guilty... but then immediately and loudly outs himself with admission of guilt to save his life (better in prison than shot dead by de Killer) before the gavel is struck]].

->''"Not guilty, and don't do it again"''

* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' does this a bit too, although usually the perp gets off from something the main characters ''think'' should be illegal, but actually isn't (see ThereShouldBeALaw for examples).

* Baltar's trial in the rebooted ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' ends with a not-guilty verdict that Adama (who was the swing vote on the judges' panel) explains this way, saying to Roslin that "not guilty is not the same as innocent" and that the verdict is because "the defense made their case; the prosecution didn't". A good decision, considering that Baltar happened to be innocent of the specific charges brought against him.

* In ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'', Kurt's father spent the last 25 years with half the town, Kurt included, convinced he had abducted and murdered Kurt's childhood friend Taylor Shaw, though the police couldn't prove anything. [[spoiler:He's absolved early in season 1 by the revelation that Jane Doe is Taylor Shaw (proven by a DNA test) and based on the timeline had to have been abducted by someone else entirely. While the season 1 finale shows this test to have been faked, he finally fesses up to Kurt that he didn't alibi out because he was ashamed of himself for having attempted suicide--which happened at the same time that Shaw went missing.]]

* In ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'', Kurt's father spent the last 25 years with half the town, Kurt included, convinced he had abducted and murdered Kurt's childhood friend Taylor Shaw, though the police couldn't prove anything. [[spoiler:He's absolved early in season 1 by the revelation that Jane Doe is Taylor Shaw (proven by a DNA test) and based on the timeline had to have been abducted by someone else entirely.]]
** [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted as the season 1 finale reveals that the DNA tests identifying Jane as Taylor were faked]].

* In ''Literature/HonorHarrington: Field of Dishonor'', due to JuryAndWitnessTampering by Earl North Hollow, the panel of admirals adjudicating his son Captain Pavel Young's CourtMartial are split fifty-fifty. As a compromise, Admiral Hemphill proposes that they declare themselves unable to reach a verdict on the most serious charges (which carry the death penalty), meaning Lord Young is dishonorably discharged but still alive to seek revenge on Honor.

Compare ConvictionByContradiction, where the detectives appear to erroneously believe the evidence is enough for a conviction.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', it was revealed that, when Voldemort killed his muggle relatives, the residents of the village where they lived were sure the victims' gardener, Frank Bryce, was the murderer, despite the muggle authorities having to release Bryce for being unable to prove the victims were murdered in the first place. He lived under suspicion for the rest of his life.

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': A court case has the Honourable Mr Justice Kilbraken on trial:

* Invoked literally in Anne Perry's ''The Sins of the Wolf''.

-->'''Clerk:''' If I may charge you, m'ludm you are charged m'lud that on the fourteenth day of June 1970 you did commit acts likely to cause of breach of the peace. How plead you, m'lud, guilty or not guilty?\\

-->'''Judge Kilbraken:''' Not guilty. Case not proven. Court adjourned. (''He hits the dock; everyone proceeds to walk off until the main judge stops them'')

* Most ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' cases seem like they'll end like this, until Phoenix/Apollo/Miles/Mia puts everything together at the last second. There are a few exceptions:

* Baltar's trial in the rebooted ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' ends with a not-guilty verdict that Adama (who was the swing vote on the judges' panel) explains this way, saying to Roslin that "not guilty is not the same as innocent" and that the verdict is because "the defense made their case; the prosecution didn't". A good decision, considering that Baltar happened to be innocent of the specific charges brought against him