What is the difference between a conviction and arrest?

Question

Are they the same thing? Don't you go to jail or prison if you're either convicted or arrested? What's the main difference? Use some details to explain.

Answer 1

An arrest occurs when you are charged with a crime. Being charged with a crime doesn't mean you are guilty of the crime. It means that the arresting officer is suspicious enough of you committing the crime to feel that there is a good chance that you will be found guilty in court.

The court system will then take you to court. You can either admit to the crime and plead guilty, or you can fight the charge and try to prove that you didn't do it.

If you plead guilty the courts will accept that and then they will sentence you to a punishment. The acceptance of your guilt by the courts and their decision to sentence you to some type of punishment means you have been convicted of the crime.

If you get arrested for driving with a revoked license, they may take you to the police station, do the paperwork and probably let you go within hours. But you are not convicted of the crime yet. During court, you may plead guilty and then the courts will accept your plea and likely give you a fine for the charge. You have now been convicted of driving with a revoked license, but as you can see, you don't necessarily go to prison because of a conviction.

You can be charged with driving with no driver's license, but they won't arrest you for it. They will just write you a ticket. At court, you may plead guilty and at that point the courts will most likely have you pay a fine. In that case, you were convicted of driving with no drivers license, but you were never actually arrested for the charge.

If you plead not guilty, the courts will take it to trial and the prosecuting attorney will try to prove that you are guilty while your defending attorney will try to prove that you are not guilty.

If the jury decides that you ar guilty, then you will get sentenced for the charge...and that is another way of saying you were convicted of the charge.

If the jury finds you not guilty, then you were arrested for the charge, but not convicted....you've shown the courts that you didn't do the crime.

Answer 2

You are arrested when an officer has probable cause to believe you committed a crime.  When you are arrested you go to jail until you post bail or go to court to face charges on the crime.  Once you go to court and are found guilty of the crime (depending on the severity) you then go to jail or prison to serve the sentence imposed on you by the court.  If you are sentenced to one year or less you may end up serving it in a jail (which is temporary housing facility) or if your are sentenced to more than a year you may end up serving it in prison which only houses people who are convicted of a crime (meaning found guilty) and have a sentenced imposed on them of one year or greater.

Answer 3

Are you serious?  Getting arrested means getting arrestd.  That's when the cops haul you off.

Being convicted is what happens at a trial.  That's when the bailiff hauls you off.

Answer 4

You can get arrested for anything. It's when you go to court and are found guilty that is a conviction.

Answer 5

Innocent people are arrested every day - all it takes is a suspicion that a person committed a crime, or a crooked cop.

A conviction is where evidence at trial proves beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed by the person charged.

Answer 6

one can be arrested or held just for suspicion or as part of an investigation. they are assumed to be innocent at this point. shortly, they are released or they go to court. if they are found guilty, that is a conviction and they can be sentenced for a long term or even to death in some states.

yes, you can go to jail for until your trial even if you have not been convicted. esp if they think you are likely to flee before the trial, but after that you are convicted or set free.

Answer 7

Arrest is when they cuff you and stuff you.  You get booked into jail and a temporary bond is set which could be petty or major depending on how serious the offense.  Many petty crimes pop you out ROR within a day or so.  Big bonds take a bit longer.  Arraignment is your first hearing where the charges are read to you and you are asked if you can afford an attorney or not and the bond reviewed for reduction or increase, again - dependent on seriousness of offense.  A series of bond reduction hearings will probably be held after that while waiting for your hearing date.  Assuming that you're in for the long haul and unable to make bail, you will stay until the hearing date where you will go to trial.  Hopefully you and your attorney will have had several serious talks before then.  After the hearing you will be released if found not guilty.  If found guilty you could be released for time served or released on probation or, if a serious offense like repeat offender or murder, you will be going to prison for awhile.  Probation will be on condition you make regular payments to the probation officer, hold down a job and have a roof over your head, jumping through whatever other hoops they want you to jump through - at your expense.  If you are a first time offender and you do all that you're ordered to do you could have adjudication withheld and your record will not show a conviction.  If you violate the terms of your parole you can be sent directly to prison without a hearing.  Having a controversial encounter with the PD could automatically get you time.  Exception - if your the victim and not the offender.  Our jails are overcrowded and so the zoo keepers try to avoid locking up any more people than they absolutely have to.  All courthouses have a legal library and a librarian that can help you to research your situation.  The judicial system works on a point system.  The more points you accumulate the more serious you're dealt with.  Repeat offenders tend to get hammered.  The court requires full payment of the bond set by the court.  A bondsman pays the full payment which is a guarantee that you're going to show up for your hearing.  The bondsman generally charges 10% of whatever the bond is set at as his/her fee and requires collateral for the posted bond.  The bondsman gets his money back from the court when you show up for the hearing.  You don't show and your 10% goes to the bounty hunters to cuff you and stuff you again and this time without a favorable review before the bench.  On top of that you most likely will lose the collateral to the bondsman.  Don't jump bail!