prosecutions
n. C / Un. the process of officially charging someone with a crime and holding a trial in a court of law. It usually involves a lawyer trying to prove that a person is guilty.
n. the institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a person or entity in a criminal court. Refers to the formal act of pursuing a criminal charge from indictment through to a verdict.
The government increased the number of prosecutions for tax fraud.
Successful prosecutions often depend on the quality of evidence collected by the police during the initial investigation.
Legal experts noted that while the new law was intended to deter corporate negligence, the actual number of prosecutions remained low due to the difficulty of proving intent.
Often used in the plural to refer to multiple legal cases; the singular form can refer to the abstract legal process.
The prosecutions of the thief was successful.The prosecution of the thief was successful.When referring to the specific legal process of one case, the singular 'prosecution' is required; the plural 'prosecutions' refers to multiple separate legal actions.