What is the consequence of an illegal arrest in terms of conviction?

The consequence of an illegal arrest in terms of conviction is that the defendant must demonstrate it affected the fairness of the trial. When an arrest is deemed illegal, it can raise significant issues regarding the admissibility of evidence collected during or subsequent to that arrest. However, not every conviction that arises from an illegal arrest is automatically overturned.

The legal principle at work here is the concept of harmless error, which allows a court to determine whether the illegality of the arrest had an actual impact on the outcome of the trial. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the defendant to show that the illegal arrest compromised their right to a fair trial or affected the jury's decision-making process. This might involve demonstrating that evidence obtained during the illegal arrest was critical to the prosecution’s case or that the arrest led to other prejudicial evidence being introduced at trial.

In contrast, other options suggest that an illegal arrest automatically leads to a conviction being overturned or invalidated, which is not typically accurate within the legal framework. The law acknowledges the complexity of how procedural errors, such as an illegal arrest, interact with the overall trial and its outcomes, thus necessitating a demonstration of actual prejudice to the defendant's case.