History Main / GuiltyUntilSomeoneElseIsGuilty

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, which comes at the wrong time when some of the items he wished for, by [[ContrivedCoincidence sheer coincidence]], include items that were shoplifted from a local department store, which then leads his parents [[MistakenForThief to suspect he is the shoplifter]] since he cannot explain where he got the stuff he wished for. Timmy knows he is innocent and suspects [[TheBully Francis]] is the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ, but [[AdultsAreUseless his parents]] and the [[PoliceAreUseless police]] are too stupid to believe him, leaving him no choice but to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. Near the end of the episode, Timmy successfully proves that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, which comes at the wrong time when some of the items he wished for, by [[ContrivedCoincidence sheer coincidence]], include items that were shoplifted from a local department store, which then leads his parents [[MistakenForThief to suspect he is the shoplifter]] since he cannot explain where he got the stuff he wished for. Timmy knows he is innocent and suspects [[TheBully Francis]] is the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ, but [[AdultsAreUseless his parents]] and the [[PoliceAreUseless police]] are too stupid to believe him, leaving him no choice but to prove his innocence. Near the end of the episode, Timmy successfully proves that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, which comes at the wrong time when some of the items he wished for, by [[ContrivedCoincidence sheer coincidence]], include items that were shoplifted from a local department store, which then leads his parents [[MistakenForThief to suspect he is the shoplifter]]. Timmy knows he is innocent and suspects [[TheBully Francis]] is the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ, but [[AdultsAreUseless his parents]] and the [[PoliceAreUseless police]] are too stupid to believe him, leaving him no choice but to prove his innocence. Near the end of the episode, Timmy successfully proves that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, and some of the items he wished for include items that were shoplifted from a department store, which leads his parents [[MistakenForThief to suspect he is the shoplifter]]. Timmy knows he is innocent, and the items he wished for that his parents thought he shoplifted were nothing more but a ContrivedCoincidence, and he suspects [[TheBully Francis]] as the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ. [[AdultsAreUseless His parents]] and the [[PoliceAreUseless police]] are too stupid to believe him, leaving Timmy no choice but to prove his innocence. Near the end of the episode, Timmy successfully proves that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, and some of the items he wished for include items that were shoplifted from a department store, which leads his parents [[MistakenForThief to suspect he is the shoplifter]]. Timmy knows he is innocent, and the items he wished for that his parents thought he shoplifted were nothing more but a ContrivedCoincidence, and he suspects [[TheBully Francis]] as the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ. [[AdultsAreUseless His parents]] and the [[PoliceAreUseless police]] are too stupid to believe him, leaving Timmy no choice but to [[ClearMyName prove his innocence]]. Near the end of the episode, Timmy successfully proves that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, and some of the items he wished for include items that were shoplifted from a department store, which leads his parents to suspect he is a shoplifter. Timmy knows he is innocent, and the items he wished for that his parents thought he shoplifted were nothing more but a ContrivedCoincidence, and he suspects [[TheBully Francis]] as the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ. [[AdultsAreUseless His parents]] and the [[PoliceAreUseless police]] are too stupid to believe him, leaving Timmy no choice but to [[ClearMyName prove his innocence]]. Timmy is ultimately proven right that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for Fairy Inspection Day, and some of the items he wished for include items that were shoplifted from a department store, which leads his parents to suspect he is a shoplifter. Timmy knows he is innocent, and the items he wished for that his parents thought he shoplifted were nothing more but a ContrivedCoincidence, and he suspects [[TheBully Francis]] as the real shoplifter when put in a PoliceLineup with him and Chester and AJ. His parents and the police are too stupid to believe him, leaving Timmy no choice but to [[ClearMyName prove his innocence]]. Timmy is ultimately proven right that Francis is the perpetrator, thanks to Cosmo shapeshifting into a security camera and [[CaughtOnTape catching Francis on video stealing a tub of lard]].

** ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'': Case 3 has Machi, a frail fourteen-year-old, being suspected of killing Romein [=LeTouse=] with a 45-caliber pistol, the recoil from which should be enough to dislocate the shoulder of a ''grown man'', never mind a teenager. Even though this fact is enough to prove Machi didn't kill Romein, the court only gets convinced of Machi's innocence once Daryan's breakdown exposes him as the killer.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': The people of Delfino Harbor believe that Mario is the one who polluted their archipelago with insidious paint (despite the fact that Mario looks very different from the sinister-looking Shadow Mario and had only arrived in Delfino minutes before being arrested). The court of Delfino Harbor decide that Mario is to be held responsible for the paint until the actual criminal is captured.

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* In ''WebAnimation/PhoenixWrightDevilsAttorney'', underworld law explicitly states that the accused is guilty until someone else is proven guilty- which winds up a problem when condemning either the defendant ''or'' the real killer would start a war. in the end Phoenix, the Judge and the prosecutor have to work together to achieve a mistrial in order to avoid condemning an innocent and sparking a war. [[spoiler: Since the true culprit is an artificial demon who's only a few months old, they end up judging that she's too young to prosecute, thus ending the case as a mistrial.]]

* Averted in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV9kavL_pQ0 AI Makes An Ace Attorney Trial]]." The Judge decides that the mystery behind Big Chungus' murder may never be solved, but nevertheless drops all charges against Kirby, the defendant.

** "Turnabout Samurai" from [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the first game]] featured the first major instance of this in the series. Phoenix proves beyond a reasonable doubt that his client is innocent by the end of the case's second day (due to proving that the real crime scene was somewhere Will Powers was unable to reach at the time of the murder, even if he hadn't been drugged with sleeping pills), but the trial continues for another day as Phoenix is tasked with finding the real culprit.

** Ryunosuke eventually invokes this in case 3 of ''Resolve'', as the true culprit is one of the rare few [[PragmaticVillainy who's fine with the defendant getting off so long as they're not also found out in the process]]. Ryunosuke insists on delaying the not guilty verdict in order to bring the true killer to justice]].

** Ryunosuke eventually invokes this in case 3 of ''Resolve'', as the true culprit is one of the rare few [[PragmaticVillainy who's fine with the defendant getting off so long as they're not also found out in the process]]. Ryunosuke has to delay the trial despite being on the cusp of victory in order to bring the killer to justice]].

* In ''WebAnimation/PhoenixWrightDevilsAttorney'', underworld law explicitly states that the accused is guilty until someone else is proven guilty and in the end Phoenix, the Judge and the prosecutor have to work together to achieve a mistrial in order to avoid condemning an innocent and sparking a war.

** ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'': In the final case, it's possible for Iris to get declared guilty if the player gets a game over due to penalties, even after Phoenix proves that only Maya or Godot could've killed Elise Deauxnim, who was revealed to actually be Misty Fey. Iris only gets a "Not Guilty" verdict after Godot is exposed as the murderer.

** ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'': [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in case 4. By the end of the case, the true culprit has not been identified, but it has been definitively proven that Solomon Starbuck could not possibly have killed Clay Terran, so the judge delivers his verdict of "Not Guilty". Granted, the evidence proving this immediately implicates Athena Cykes of the same crime, but this is not revealed until after the verdict is delivered.

* In the first case of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', [[Characters/DanganronpaMakotoNaegi Makoto Naegi]] is the first suspect. Because of the mechanics of a game over, Makoto gets voted out as the Blackened even after he's proven innocent. In fact, for the rest of the first and second games, the PlayerCharacter will be voted as the Blackened if you let your Influence Gauge run out by making mistakes, regardless of who is currently the suspect. This is because the goal of the class trials is to correctly identify the Blackened responsible for the murder, and if the Blackened is not convicted, everyone else will be executed.

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': In the ''"Study in S"'' arc, the police are led to believe that Holmes is a murderer so he's compelled to find the true killer in order to prove himself innocent.

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': In the "Study in S" arc, the police are led to believe that Holmes is a murderer so that he will be compelled to find the true killer in order to prove himself innocent.

* In ''WebAnimation/PhoenixWrightDevilsAttorney'', underworld law explicitely states that the accused is guilty until someone else is proven guilty and in the end Phoenix, the Judge and the prosecutor have to work together to achieve a mistrial in order to avoid condeming an innocent and sparking a war.

* ''Series/TheFlash'': Barry's father Henry Allen is in jail for Barry's mother's murder. He was found at the scene of the crime covered in her blood with his fingerprints on the murder weapon (because he was trying to save her life) and Barry's witness testimony that "the room filled with lightning and the man in the lightning killed my mother" isn't considered credible. As an adult, Barry learns that the real killer is Eobard Thawne aka Reverse Flash aka [[spoiler:Harrison Wells]], but still lacks the evidence to clear his father's name. [[spoiler: When Thawne dies, he leaves a taped confession in his video will so that Henry will finally be freed.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': [=SpongeBob=] throws a peanut at Clamu to wake her up in "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E32PressureTheSmokingPeanut The Smoking Peanut]]." When Clamu awakens, she goes on a crying rampage, and [=SpongeBob=] believes throwing his peanut is what made her upset. After [=SpongeBob=] is interrogated by the police, they end up arresting Patrick instead of him, resulting in [=SpongeBob=] confessing about the thrown peanut. Nobody gets convinced of his or Patrick's innocence until a zookeeper shows up and announces that Mr. Krabs upset Clamu by stealing her pearl, which is revealed to actually be an egg because it hatched immediately after it was returned.

* ''Series/BeyondBeliefFactOrFiction'': In the "Positive I.D." episode, a reporter goes to the local police precinct to find a story, only to be identified as a liquor store robber, and he's even shown footage of him holding the cashier at gunpoint. After spending several hours in lockup, where he doubts his own innocence, he's freed and shown the real robber who looks like him. He manages to dig up information on the robber, and turns out [[SeparatedAtBirth they are twin brothers given up for adoption]]. While the reporter was adopted by a loving couple, his brother through different foster homes, being abused all the while, until he aged out of the system.

* ''Series/{{Sharpe}}'': In "Sharpe's Revenge", Richard is accused of stealing Napoleon's treasure chests, killing and mutilating its guards. The real thieves had sent a written testimony that he did it. It doesn't really seem to matter how he was supposed to have known this treasure even existed, let alone where and when to intercept it, or where he was able to hide a huge stash of coins, with or without accomplices. Okay, the prosecution does claim that he had recently lost all his money, providing a motive - but that hadn't happened yet at the time the crime took place.

* ''Psych'': In the episode ''Dead Bear Walking'', Shawn is able to prove that the bear did not kill it's handler. However, Cody Blair (the county director of animal control) decides that the execution will still happen unless he and Gus find the true culprit within 12 hours.
* ''Sharpe'': In "Sharpe's Revenge", Richard is accused of stealing Napoleon's treasure chests, killing and mutilating its guards. The real thieves had sent a written testimony that he did it. It doesn't really seem to matter how he was supposed to have known this treasure even existed, let alone where and when to intercept it, or where he was able to hide a huge stash of coins, with or without accomplices. Okay, the prosecution does claim that he had recently lost all his money, providing a motive - but that hadn't happened yet at the time the crime took place.

{{Exaggerated}} examples of this trope ("You've presented an iron-clad alibi proving Bob couldn't possibly have committed the crime. But unless you find the actual perpetrator for us, we're gonna convict Bob anyway.") are also examples of the logical fallacy ShiftingTheBurdenOfProof. ClearMyName, ClearTheirName, and ThePerryMasonMethod frequently overlap with this. Compare NotMeThisTime. Compare SuspectExistenceFailure, which is another trope that uses bulletproof evidence for a suspect's innocence.