Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
absolución
English translation:
acquittal / finding of not guilty
Added to glossary by
Alan Thompson
Aug 6 20:41
1 mo ago
41 viewers *
Spanish term
United Kingdom
ES-EN Translator & Interpreter
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English, Hebrew to English
absolución
Spanish to English
Law/Patents
Law (general)
I know this is usually rendered as "acquittal" in criminal proceedings, but in the sources I have consulted regarding the case in question, the charges were dropped by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The sources even seem to contradict each other a bit in that the first two examples refer to the case as having ended in "la absolución completa" and "una sentencia absolutoria", whereas the third source makes the distinction that this is a case the charges having been withdrawn rather "a diferencia de una absolución".
Context:
"A medida que se desarrollaba el largo proceso, quedó claro que los hechos estaban del lado de la defensa—y que el enfoque punitivo del Estado hacia la planta tradicional se basaba en la ignorancia. El juicio concluyó el mes pasado con la retirada de los cargos por parte de la fiscal y la absolución completa. Tras el anuncio de la conclusión del caso, una alegría estalló en la sala del tribunal, que estaba lleno de personas apoyando al acusado."
(https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/small-case-spa...
"Unos argumentos que finalmente han terminado por convencer no sólo al tribunal de la Audiencia de Girona -que ha dictado una sentencia absolutoria-, sino también a los testigos, a los agentes, a los peritos, y la fiscalía que ha retirado la acusación."
(https://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2017/03/15/58c97970e5fdea012...
"Si bien el retiro de los cargos contra el acusado, que había sido acusado de un delito contra la salud pública, fue una noticia muy bienvenida para la persona involucrada, para sus familiares y amigos y para los reformadores de la política de drogas, la decisión del fiscal de retirar los cargos, a diferencia de una absolución o de una decisión del juez de rechazar los cargos, no da lugar a ningún precedente jurídico formal en el que puedan basarse otros acusados en circunstancias similares."
(https://www.iceers.org/es/hoja-de-coca-amazonia-andina-tribu...
To further complicate matters, in the text I am translating, the term is used many times in a table that includes a column for the "resolución judicial" of various cases. Many rulings are classed as "absolución", which I have been translating as "acquittal", but for this particular case it reads "absolución (casamiento durante vista oral)". The use of "casamiento" here is extremely puzzling; I posted about it on here the other day and have gathered from one of the responses that it appears to be a form of the verb "casar" in the sense of "anular". In any case, I need to figure out how to render the term in this table.
A version of the table is available here, on page 7:
https://www.iceers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Informe-de...
Context:
"A medida que se desarrollaba el largo proceso, quedó claro que los hechos estaban del lado de la defensa—y que el enfoque punitivo del Estado hacia la planta tradicional se basaba en la ignorancia. El juicio concluyó el mes pasado con la retirada de los cargos por parte de la fiscal y la absolución completa. Tras el anuncio de la conclusión del caso, una alegría estalló en la sala del tribunal, que estaba lleno de personas apoyando al acusado."
(https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/small-case-spa...
"Unos argumentos que finalmente han terminado por convencer no sólo al tribunal de la Audiencia de Girona -que ha dictado una sentencia absolutoria-, sino también a los testigos, a los agentes, a los peritos, y la fiscalía que ha retirado la acusación."
(https://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2017/03/15/58c97970e5fdea012...
"Si bien el retiro de los cargos contra el acusado, que había sido acusado de un delito contra la salud pública, fue una noticia muy bienvenida para la persona involucrada, para sus familiares y amigos y para los reformadores de la política de drogas, la decisión del fiscal de retirar los cargos, a diferencia de una absolución o de una decisión del juez de rechazar los cargos, no da lugar a ningún precedente jurídico formal en el que puedan basarse otros acusados en circunstancias similares."
(https://www.iceers.org/es/hoja-de-coca-amazonia-andina-tribu...
To further complicate matters, in the text I am translating, the term is used many times in a table that includes a column for the "resolución judicial" of various cases. Many rulings are classed as "absolución", which I have been translating as "acquittal", but for this particular case it reads "absolución (casamiento durante vista oral)". The use of "casamiento" here is extremely puzzling; I posted about it on here the other day and have gathered from one of the responses that it appears to be a form of the verb "casar" in the sense of "anular". In any case, I need to figure out how to render the term in this table.
A version of the table is available here, on page 7:
https://www.iceers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Informe-de...
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 | acquittal / finding of not guilty |
Alan Thompson
|
| 3 | discharge (E&W: absolute / conditional); dismissal (US: with / without prejudice) vs. nolle prosequi |
Adrian MM.
|
Change log
Aug 17, 2024 15:40: Alan Thompson Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
1 day 19 hrs
Alan Thompson
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Accurate, idiomatic and on time
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Italian to English, Catalan to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
33
Selected
acquittal / finding of not guilty
All comments relate to England & Wales only.
You are, of course, absolutely correct to say that in criminal proceedings absolución = acquittal (West). You might also consider finding of not guilty, e.g.
- The Judge entered a finding of not guilty.
- The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
As regards the table on p. 7 of the ICEERS document, you are perfectly entitled to use acquittal, or you might consider using finding of not guilty, or even simply not guilty (since the purpose of the table is to present the outcomes of the various criminal cases).
As regards la fiscalía ... ha retirado la acusación, this is typically rendered as the Prosecution offered no evidence. It is a common reason for cases collapsing once they have started, due to issues with the evidence or procedural difficulties.
There are various mechanisms by which the Prosecution may desist from proceeding with a case, including discontinuing (s. 23/23A Prosecution of Offences Act 1985), withdrawing (Mags Court only), offering no evidence, or applying to the Attorney General for nolle prosequi (mainly on public interest grounds). More details in the CPS guidance below.
It seems to me that the Prosecution offered no evidence fits the circumstances you have described (however I would reiterate the advice from Rebecca not to accept press reports at face value - sometimes they get the wrong end of the stick).
HTH
You are, of course, absolutely correct to say that in criminal proceedings absolución = acquittal (West). You might also consider finding of not guilty, e.g.
- The Judge entered a finding of not guilty.
- The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
As regards the table on p. 7 of the ICEERS document, you are perfectly entitled to use acquittal, or you might consider using finding of not guilty, or even simply not guilty (since the purpose of the table is to present the outcomes of the various criminal cases).
As regards la fiscalía ... ha retirado la acusación, this is typically rendered as the Prosecution offered no evidence. It is a common reason for cases collapsing once they have started, due to issues with the evidence or procedural difficulties.
There are various mechanisms by which the Prosecution may desist from proceeding with a case, including discontinuing (s. 23/23A Prosecution of Offences Act 1985), withdrawing (Mags Court only), offering no evidence, or applying to the Attorney General for nolle prosequi (mainly on public interest grounds). More details in the CPS guidance below.
It seems to me that the Prosecution offered no evidence fits the circumstances you have described (however I would reiterate the advice from Rebecca not to accept press reports at face value - sometimes they get the wrong end of the stick).
HTH
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you very much for your help"
1 day 11 hrs
Adrian MM.
Austria
Austria
Native in English
Specializes in field
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: Scottish, British)
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 6 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
610
discharge (E&W: absolute / conditional); dismissal (US: with / without prejudice) vs. nolle prosequi
la absolución completa : AmE > dismissal with prejudice, pace Rebecca J. and/or Flavio P. and (on second thoughts) BrE absolute discharge
una sentencia absolutoria : an acquittal; judgment of acquittal (West)
la fiscalía ... ha retirado la acusación : the Prosecutor's Office (West), Attorney-General's Dept. dropped the indictment (AE: nolle prosequied the case; E&W: entered a nolle prosequi, but the indictment can still resume at a later date).
Casamiento has already been answered 'after a fashion'.
A nolle prosequi might be one answer to the distinction in point, whilst (note the conjunction) dismissal with and without prejudice would not be widely understood by British readers.
una sentencia absolutoria : an acquittal; judgment of acquittal (West)
la fiscalía ... ha retirado la acusación : the Prosecutor's Office (West), Attorney-General's Dept. dropped the indictment (AE: nolle prosequied the case; E&W: entered a nolle prosequi, but the indictment can still resume at a later date).
Casamiento has already been answered 'after a fashion'.
A nolle prosequi might be one answer to the distinction in point, whilst (note the conjunction) dismissal with and without prejudice would not be widely understood by British readers.
Example sentence:
US: “With prejudice” means the decision is final. “Without prejudice” means it's not final and subject to future inquiry. If the judge announces a case is dismissed with prejudice, that means it's permanently dismissed and can't be retried.
Nolle prosequi is a legal notice or entry of record that the prosecutor or plaintiff has decided to abandon the prosecution or lawsuit.
Discussion
And that's just the answer! (with apologies to Private Eye magazine);
Unfortunately, I cannot locate the judgment itself despite my best efforts.
I am not sure why the link is not working; here it is again: https://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2017/03/15/58c97970e5fdea012...
The title is 'La Audiencia de Girona absuelve a un hombre que se hacía enviar hojas de coca para "usos espirituales"'