Eli5 What does the term technicality mean when it comes to the law

Question

I genuinely don’t understand what a technicality is, and I really want to know.

In: 1

Answer 1

I assume you are referring to something like “he got off on a technicality”? In this instance, it means that there was some violation of rule or procedure that led to the case being dismissed, instead of a jury acquitting the defendant after a trial. Typically, technicalities will be things like how a particular piece of evidence was acquired, whether the prosecution followed certain rules when preparing its case, etc.