Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Usually neither. Being acquitted only means the jury was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty. It does not mean he was found innocent.

Further, in California, reports to police are privileged against civil lawsuits. So even if the defendant was innocent, even if the person who reported him to the police deliberately framed him, and even if the accused can prove both of these things, he sill can't sue his accuser successfully. The accuser can be convicted of a crime for making a false police report and can be sent to prison for it, but he can't be made to pay civil damages to the accused.

Government agencies and their law enforcement officers can sometimes be held liable where they *knowingly* arrest and/or prosecute an innocent person. This is true even if they believe he is guilty at first but then keep pursuing the case after they realize he is innocent. But if they just made an honest mistake -- even a pretty sloppy mistake -- they generally can't be held liable for it.

Where an inmate or former inmate is able to prove he did not commit the crime for which he was imprisoned, the state will sometimes offer him compensation. The amount is not very generous, though, unless it appears that a public employee deliberately violated his rights.