Conviction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other senses of this word, see Conviction (disambiguation).

"Convicted" redirects here. For other uses, see Convicted (disambiguation).

Criminal procedure
Criminal trials and convictions
Rights of the accused
Fair trial Speedy trial Jury trial Counsel Presumption of innocence Exclusionary rule¹ Self-incrimination Double jeopardy²
Verdict
Conviction Acquittal Not proven³ Directed verdict
Sentencing
Mandatory Suspended Custodial Dangerous offender^4, 5 Capital punishment Execution warrant Cruel and unusual punishment Life Indefinite
Post-sentencing
Parole Probation Tariff⁶ Life licence⁶ Miscarriage of justice Exoneration Pardon Sexually violent predator legislation¹
Related areas of law
Criminal defenses Criminal law Evidence Civil procedure
Portals
Law Criminal justice
¹ US courts ² Not in English/Welsh courts ³ Scottish courts ⁴ English/Welsh courts ⁵ Canadian courts ⁶ UK courts
v t e

In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime. ^[1]

The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (i.e. "not guilty"). In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal. There are also cases where the court orders that a defendant not be convicted, despite being found guilty.

For a host of reasons, the criminal justice system is not perfect, and sometimes guilty defendants are acquitted, while innocent people are convicted. Appeal mechanisms mitigate this problem to some extent. An error which results in the conviction of an innocent person is known as a miscarriage of justice.

After a defendant is convicted, the court determines the appropriate sentence as a punishment. Furthermore, the conviction may lead to results beyond the terms of the sentence itself. Such ramifications are known as the collateral consequences of criminal charges.

A minor conviction is considered, in a term, a warning conviction, and it doesn't affect the defendant, but does serve as a warning.

A history of convictions are called antecedents, known colloquially as "previous" in the United Kingdom, and "priors" in the United States and Australia.

The history of convictions also shows that a minor law conviction can be prosecuted as any individuals punishment.

References

↑ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2000). Black's law dictionary (7th ed. ed.). St. Paul, Minn.: West Group. p. 335. ISBN 0-314-24077-2.

Article: Comparison of the conviction rates of a few countries of the world.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.