Prior convictions have come back to haunt many a person over time. A prior conviction is a jury or judge's decision about a person's guilt concerning a previous crime. Prior convictions of felonies may be brought up if or when the offender is called into court for another legal matter. At this point, the previous offender may decide to challenge whether their prior convictions were unconstitutional. This happens more often than you might think. The defendant in these cases can state that he or she did not have effective counsel and/or did not receive a proper reading of their rights with any of their prior convictions. There are usually several aspects of past times in court that can be brought up with help from legal counsel when when inquiring about prior convictions.