Guilty Law and Legal Definition
The term ‘guilty’ is used to denote a person who has committed or is responsible for committing a criminal offense or a traffic infraction. It can also denote a person responsible for a civil wrong such as a tort or breach of contract. In civil lawsuits ‘guilty’ means misconduct and not criminal responsibility.
Guilty also refers to a plea of a criminal defendant who does not contest the charges. It is the term used by an accused while s/he admits the commission of the crime charged against him/her before a court. Guilty also refers to a jury verdict convicting the defendant of the crime charged.
