Understanding dispositions
The disposition is the outcome of a charge in the source's words; `normalized…outcome` is the same outcome in twelve words. It is the field that separates an accusation from a conviction.
As published and as classified
cases[].charges[].disposition is kept exactly as the court or agency published it, because vocabularies differ by jurisdiction. normalized.cases[].charges[].outcome maps it onto a closed set, and normalized…convicted answers the one question most workflows ask. Record-level: normalized.outcomes[], normalized.hasConviction, normalized.convictionCount.
The outcome vocabulary
| `outcome` | Means | `convicted` |
|---|---|---|
convicted | A finding or plea of guilt was entered. | true |
pending | No outcome yet; the case is open. Typical for booking records. | null |
dismissed | The charge was dismissed. | false |
nolle_prosequi | The prosecutor declined to proceed. | false |
acquitted | Not guilty. | false |
deferred_or_diverted | Deferred adjudication or a diversion program. | false |
vacated | Vacated, expunged or sealed; normalized.vacatedOrSealed is set and the record is still returned unless filters.excludeVacatedOrSealed. | false |
warrant | The record is a warrant, not a court outcome. | null |
transferred | Transferred to another court or jurisdiction. | null |
closed_unspecified | Closed without a published outcome. | null |
administrative | An administrative action (exclusion lists). | null |
unknown | The source published nothing usable. | null |
Common published texts behind them: convicted, adjudicated, guilty and court abbreviations such as GA → convicted; DISM/RELEASED TO AUTHORITIES → dismissed; "" on an open case → pending; wanted → warrant. Where an abbreviation is unclear, sources[].recordUrl opens the source's own page.
Outcome and status
normalized.custodyStatus is the record's state (disposed, in_custody, released, active_warrant, …); outcome is per charge. A disposed case can hold one convicted charge and one dismissed charge; normalized.outcomes[] lists both and hasConviction is true. Filter on filters.outcome or filters.convictedOnly to narrow a search by outcome.