The conviction rate, expressed as a percentage, represents the proportion of cases resulting in a legal declaration of guilt for an offense, against the total number of trials completed.
A conviction is a legal declaration that someone is guilty of committing an offense, determined through a jury's or bench's verdict within a court of law.
Rates are often high, especially when presented in their most general form (i.e., without qualification regarding changes made to original charges, pleas that are negotiated, etc.).
This is much lower than one might infer from the 3.6% acquittal rate because 1/3rd of the cases are withdrawn (either directly or indirectly via a "Crown Stay") before they reach a verdict.
According to Canadian trial lawyer Kim Schofield, the effective conviction rate falls from 62% to approximately 50% if one excludes guilty pleas and deals.
As a result, Chinese prosecutors tend to withdraw indictments at the pre-trial stage rather than risk acquittal.
[25] Instead, the Russian statistics consider the number of convictions out of the cases that have made it to the end, not being dismissed in the process.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has three prosecuting bodies that cover different geographic areas.
Coughlan, writing in 2000, stated, "In recent years, the conviction rate has averaged approximately 84% in Texas, 82% in California, 72% in New York, 67% in North Carolina, and 59% in Florida.