guilty or guilt?

It might be grammatically correct, but it clangs. It just isn't normal usage.

Don't use the expression "verdict of guilty" in this instance. "Verdict of guilt" is no better. Instead, change it to -

The jury has reached a guilty verdict.

OR

The jury found the defendant guilty.

OR

The defendant was found guilty by a jury of his peers.

OR

The defendant was found guilty of ___ (fill in whatever the charge(s) are here).

A good place to look for information on common courtroom expressions (really!) is old TV shows centered around the law, such as Perry Mason. Of course, you'll get more information and more nuance from legal books, but that's a lot for a student of English to read. Perry Mason (or The Defenders, or LA Law, or Boston Legal, those kinds of shows) is perfectly fine.

So what you mean is that both " guilt" and "guilty" are ok according to the grammar, but they are seldom used in that way,right? Now I get it.
Thanks for your information. Watching legal TV shows is a great idea. I'll give it a shot.

Yeah, they're just kind of awkward. I don't know that I've ever heard a judge say "verdict of guilt" or "verdict of guilty" (I'm a retired lawyer, I've been to a few of these :wink: ), but I don't really see anything grammatically wrong with those usages.

Welcome to Able2know.

I AM guilty, but I feel no guilt.
OR
I am not guilty, but I have feelings of guilt

When the judge asks the jury what verdict they have reached, the answer of the foreman of the jury is "Guilty" or "Not guilty". So we speak of a "guilty" or a "not guilty" verdict. The idiom refers to the phrase spoken in court.

Why restrict the usage strickly to the court situation?

I don't think it needs to be restricted. You could certainly say, for example "History has pronounced a guilty verdict on Stalin". But if you do, you are using a legal metaphor derived from the court process.

O.K., I can see that--I think. I wonder, however, if people said of others that they were "guilty" of certain acts even in societies lacking formal court systems.