conviction

views updated May 14 2018

con·vic·tion / kənˈvikshən/ • n. 1. a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense, made by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.2. a firmly held belief or opinion: his conviction that the death was no accident. . ∎  the quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of what one believes or says: his voice lacked conviction.

Conviction

views updated May 21 2018

CONVICTION

The outcome of a criminal prosecution which concludes in a judgment that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged. The juncture of a criminal proceeding during which the question of guilt is ascertained. In a case where the perpetrator has been adjudged guilty and sentenced, a record of the summary proceedings brought pursuant to any penal statute before one or more justices of the peace or other properly authorized persons.

The terms conviction and convicted refer to the final judgment on a verdict of guilty, a plea of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere. They do not include a final judgment that has been deleted by a pardon, set aside, reversed, or otherwise rendered inoperative.

The term summary conviction refers to the consequence of a trial before a court or magistrate, without a jury, which generally involves a minor misdemeanor.

Conviction

views updated Jun 11 2018

Conviction ★★ 2002 (R)

Philadelphiaborn Carl Upchurch (Epps) drops out of school at nine and into a life of crime that leads to various prison sentences. A man with a violent temper, he's no one to mess with but he also wants more from his life. This leads to his mentoring by Quaker prison instructor Martha (Delany) and Carl's goal to save other innercity youth from a life of violence and imprisonment. Based on Upchurch's autobiography. 100m/C VHS, DVD . Omar Epps, Dana Delany, Charles S. Dutton, Treach, Bentley Mitchum; D: Kevin Rodney Sullivan; W: Jon Huffman, Carl Upchurch; C: Miroslaw Baszak; M: Jeff Beal. CABLE