In law, a conviction is the verdict which results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of committing a crime.

The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (e.g. "not guilty"), or (in Scotland only) a verdict of Not Proven.

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

After a defendant is convicted, the court will determine the appropriate sentence by way of punishment. Further, the conviction itself may lead to results beyond the terms of the sentence, such as a loss of federal education loans in the case of a drug felony. Such ramifications are known as the collateral consequences of criminal charges.

Criminal law | Legal terms