History Main / GuiltyUntilSomeoneElseIsGuilty

** It's played straight in ''VideoGame/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' in the final case, since the case is pretty clearly a KangarooCourt run by a despot who wants the defendant to be convicted to break the spirit of LaResistance and isn't afraid to abuse authority as [[spoiler:the Queen of Khura'in]] to do so.[[spoiler: Even when you ''do'' prove the defendant Not Guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt on account of him being ''dead'' when the crime took place, ''and'' prove the evidence against him in a previous case was fabricated, Ga'ran just writes a new law declaring standing up to her to be a crime punishable by summary execution. You only win the case by proving she never had a claim to the throne and thus all her laws are invalid.]]

** ''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, and neither of Machi's arms have been ripped out of their sockets. 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.
** Zig Zagged with Case 4 of Apollo Justice. On the one hand, they do work out who the guilty person is. On the other hand, there's no way to prove it. Ultimately though, the trial is the first to be done by Jury, and this lessening of the burden of proof is enough to save your defendant, since one of the jurors decides to vote Not Guilty. (Leaving aside that the juror in question is Apollo's and Trucy's mother)

* In ''Film/TimeAfterTime'', the police arrest a time-travelling H.G. Wells in 1979 for a string of murders that were actually committed by Jack the Ripper. He insists that his love interest Amy is in danger from the real killer and says he'll confess on the condition that they protect her. Jack strikes again before they get to Amy's apartment, [[spoiler:killing Amy's roommate, whom they mistake at the time for Amy]].

** One of the bad endings of ''Dual Destinies'' case 5 revolves around an aversion; if you mess up in [[spoiler: Bobby Fulbright]]'s testimony, Athena and Simon Blackquill will be declared innocent despite the true culprit never being identified. It counts as a bad ending for two reasons: One, Athena and Simon will never get closure regarding Metis' death, and two, UR-1 was one of two cases that catalyzed the Dark Age of the Law (the other being the case that got Phoenix disbarred, which was itself solved and Phoenix exonerated back in ''Apollo Justice''), and the Dark Age cannot come to a close without the case being solved.

* In ''Film/The Cocoanuts'', after Mrs. Potter's stolen necklace has been recovered from beachfront lot #26, Bob is accused of stealing it simply because he refused to explain ''why'' he was so determined to win the bidding for the lot. [[spoiler:It's because he and Polly wish to build their dream home there.]]

* ''Series/{{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.

* ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'': Muff Potter is accused of the murder of Dr. Robinson--an allegation he doesn't contest because he blacked out drunk at the crime scene and woke up with a knife in his hand. After his arrest, no one in town doubts that he did it. When he is about to be sentenced to death, Tom Sawyer steps out at the trial because he and Huckleberry Finn witnessed Injun Joe commit the act and then frame Muff. Joe, who is present, flees from the courtroom, leading to all charges against Muff be dropped.

** ''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 (who's also innocent; the real culprit framed her) of the same crime, but this is not revealed until after the verdict is delivered. Clay Terran's true killer isn't found out until the next case.

A misdeed has occurred, and one character -- usually a protagonist -- is assumed to be the culprit, either because they have a history of being a troublemaker, or simply because they were the first to find the body -- the second person on the scene of the crime saw them standing next to the victim and naturally assumed that they did it. The problem is that the accused character is innocent. While the character's closest friends and relatives may believe their innocence, everyone else will believe they're guilty. The "evidence" can sometimes be wafer thin and lacking coherence, such as a motive. Arguments in their defense tend to be ignored - the other characters will still believe they did it. The only way everyone will be convinced that the accused isn't guilty is with the strongest evidence of all: exposing the true culprit, and yet this is ''not'' a [[KangarooCourt Kangaroo Court]] -- the court simply follows its own inscrutable train of thought, and ''will'' clear your name once it becomes apparent that the prosecution was trying [[FrameUp to frame you]]. It's just that the standards for proof are apparently -- and hopefully -- very different from [[RealLife real life]].

** One of the bad endings of ''Dual Destinies'' case 5 revolves around an aversion; if you mess up in [[spoiler: Bobby Fulbright]]'s testimony, Athena and Simon Blackquill will be declared innocent despite the true culprit never being identified. It counts as a bad ending for two reasons: One, Athena and Simon will never get closure regarding Metis' death, and two, UR-1 was one of two cases that catalyzed the Dark Age of the Law (the other being the case that got Phoenix disbarred, which was itself solved and Phoeniz exonerated back in ''Apollo Justice''), and the Dark Age cannot come to a close without the case being solved.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': This is not an actual part of the law system in the games, but due to the ways the trials are set up, it is rare to be able to decisively prove your defendant innocent without proving how the crime happened at every step and who actually did it. In the earlier games, for the few exceptions where you do conclusively prove your defendant's innocence early, the game requires you to continue until you've caught the real killer, but some later games will instead give you alternate game over screens to the tune of "your client was declared innocent, but the killer got away", or even in one example work it into the plot and save catching the actual criminal for a later case.

A misdeed has occurred, and one character -- usually a protagonist -- is assumed to be the culprit, either because they have a history of being a troublemaker, or simply because they were the first to find the body -- the second person on the scene of the crime saw them standing next to the victim and naturally assumed that they did it. The problem is that the accused character is innocent. While the character's closest friends and relatives may believe their innocence, everyone else will believe they're guilty. The "evidence" can sometimes be wafer thin and lacking coherence, such as a motive. Arguments in their defense tend to be ignored - the other characters will still believe they did it. The only way everyone will be convinced that the accused isn't guilty is with the strongest evidence of all: exposing the true culprit.

And yet this is ''not'' a [[KangarooCourt Kangaroo Court]] -- the court simply follows its own inscrutable train of thought, and ''will'' clear your name once it becomes apparent that the prosecution was trying [[FrameUp to frame you]]. It's just that the standards for proof are apparently -- and hopefully -- very different from [[RealLife real life]].

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'': Security footage implicates Bucky Barnes for a bombing in Vienna, and he only gets proven innocent once evidence is discovered that he was framed by Zemo, the real mastermind behind the terrorist attack.

A misdeed has occurred, and one character - usually a protagonist - is assumed to be the culprit, either because they have a history of being a troublemaker, or simply because they were the first to find the body - the second person on the scene of the crime saw them standing next to the victim and naturally assumed that they did it. The problem is that the accused character is innocent. While the character's closest friends and relatives may believe their innocence, everyone else will believe they're guilty. The "evidence" can sometimes be wafer thin and lacking coherence, such as a motive. Arguments in their defense tend to be ignored - the other characters will still believe they did it. The only way everyone will be convinced that the accused isn't guilty is with the strongest evidence of all: exposing the true culprit.

And yet this is ''not'' a [[KangarooCourt Kangaroo Court]] - the court simply follows its own inscrutable train of thought, and ''will'' clear your name once it becomes apparent that the prosecution was trying [[FrameUp to frame you]]. It's just that the standards for proof are apparently - and hopefully - very different from [[RealLife real life]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Inspection Detection" has Timmy prepping for [[TheInspectorIsComing 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, and because he cannot explain where he got the stuff he wished for at the risk of losing Cosmo and Wanda (bonus points for [[DidntThinkThisThrough failing a lie detector test]]), it 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 and finds a stolen walkie-talkie in his pants, 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 [[TheInspectorIsComing 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, and because he cannot explain where he got the stuff he wished for at the risk of losing Cosmo and Wanda, it 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 and finds a stolen walkie-talkie in his pants, 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 [[TheInspectorIsComing 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, and because he cannot explain where he got the stuff he wished for, it 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 and finds a stolen walkie-talkie in his pants, 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, and because he cannot explain where he got the stuff he wished for, it 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 and finds a stolen walkie-talkie in his pants, 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]].