First of all we have to understand what a crime and a criminal charge are.
A crime, in its broadest sense, is any act the commission of which is prohibited by law. Typically a criminal offence is expressed to be so in a law and the punishment is also stated in a law. Crimes may be grouped as simple offenses, misdemeanors and felonies
Examples of crimes are: dealing in prohibited substances like drugs, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, receiving the proceeds of crime etc.
A criminal charge is a formal accusation leveled by a government official (typically a prosecutor or the police) that someone has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can be in the form of a complaint, information, or both.
In criminal cases, the prosecuting attorney decides on the charges, after reviewing police reports, witness statements, and any other evidence of wrongdoing. Formal charges are announced at a DEFENDANT’S arraignment.
In the United States, the consequence of going to full trial as a defendant is dicey. Criminal defendants who decide to go to trial place themselves in the precarious position of putting their lives in the hands of a jury. Juries are often difficult to predict. The defendant also risks getting the maximum penalty for a crime.
A defendant charged with a criminal offense may therefore be advised by his attorneys to plead guilty or NO CONTEST, rather than risking a conviction for the offense with which they have been charged. Foreigners in the US often take this route.
However, you do not need to have been formally found guilty by a judge. If you plead guilty or no contest, or if you admit facts sufficient to support a finding of guilt, this will be considered a CONVICTION if it resulted in some sort of penalty e.g. a fine, FORFEITURE, imprisonment (typically lighter in that instance).
A voluntary forfeiture by a defendant sequel to a criminal charge is typically a plea bargain or No Contest.
This process involves the criminal defense lawyer and the prosecutor reaching an agreement as to the sentence that the defendant should receive. In exchange for pleading guilty, the criminal defendant may receive a lighter sentence or have charges reduced. A forfeiture of properties being proceeds of crime may also be agreed to.
Having pleaded guilty there is no further need for the judge to pronounce a conviction. What the judge does in that case is simply to proceed to sentencing.
If the judge does not like the sentence that was suggested by the prosecutor and the criminal defense lawyer, he or she can generally reject it and impose a longer sentence. However, where the judge finds the suggested sentence suitable the judge pronounces on it and makes it the judgment of the court.
Please Note that in a forfeiture as part of a no contest or plea bargain the properties in question do not and cannot forfeit themselves. The Defendant in the charge is the one forfeiting the properties. For that reason, the state then proceeds against the properties if the bargain succeeds. Then you will see the properties listed in the FORFEITURE ACTION.
Please NOTE that the Defendant in that instance remains a CONVICT (Ex Convict).
Note further that the above piece is based on United States legal system.
