GlossaryReports, outcomes, and case status
Conviction
A conviction is a court determination that a defendant is guilty of an offense.
A conviction is a court determination that a defendant is guilty of an offense. It can follow a qualifying plea or a finding at trial. It is a judicial outcome, distinct from a police report, arrest, criminal charge, or agency decision to close an investigation.
Reading a conviction entry
The San Diego Superior Court glossary describes conviction as a determination of guilt based on a plea, jury verdict, or judicial finding. When a record says “conviction,” the next questions are which offense, which court, and which date the entry concerns.
Do not apply a case's summarized result automatically to every original charge. A case can include dismissed charges alongside a conviction on another count. The sentence, or consequence ordered by the court, is also a separate detail that a brief conviction field may not contain.
Example
Hypothetical example: A docket lists two initial counts. One ends in dismissal. The court enters a conviction on the second count and schedules sentencing for a later date.
At that point, the record supports saying that the defendant was convicted on the second count. It does not support saying that both counts produced convictions or that a particular sentence has already been imposed. The later sentencing entry supplies different information.
Common confusion
“Charged” describes an accusation. “Convicted” describes a determination of guilt. “Cleared” in crime reporting describes an offense's reporting status and cannot substitute for either court term.
Booking is the administrative recording of a person's entry into custody. A booking photograph or jail admission is not evidence of a conviction.
Scope of the conclusion
Read any later court orders with the original judgment. A historical entry may no longer describe the current status if a court has changed the outcome. The applicable jurisdiction controls the legal effect of pleas, deferred judgments, and later relief; an abbreviated public log does not resolve those questions.