Felony


A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments, including capital punishment, could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.
In many common-law jurisdictions, such as England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, crimes are no longer classified as felonies or misdemeanors. Instead, crimes are classified by mode of trial as indictable offenses, triable by jury, which are usually more serious, and summary offenses, triable by summary procedure without a jury, which are usually less serious.
In some civil law jurisdictions, such as Italy and Spain, the term delict is used to describe serious offenses, a category similar to common law felony. In other nations, such as Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland, more serious offenses are described as "crimes", while "misdemeanors" or "delicts" are less serious. In still others, such as Brazil and Portugal, "crimes" and "delicts" are synonymous and are opposed to contraventions.
In the United States, where the felony–misdemeanor distinction is still widely applied, the federal government defines a felony as a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year. If punishable by exactly one year or less, it is classified as a misdemeanor. The classification is based upon a crime's potential sentence, so a crime remains classified as a felony even if a defendant convicted of a felony receives a sentence of one year or less. Some individual states classify crimes by other factors, such as seriousness or context.

United States

In the United States, a felony is a crime that is punishable by death or more than one year in prison.

History

Under common law, felonies were crimes punishable by either death, forfeiture of property, or both. While felony charges remain serious, concerns of proportionality have since prompted legislatures to require or permit the imposition of less serious punishments, ranging from lesser terms of imprisonment to the substitution of a jail sentence or even the suspension of all incarceration contingent upon a defendant's successful completion of probation. Standards for measurement of an offense's seriousness include attempts to quantitatively estimate and compare the effects of a crime upon its specific victims or society generally.
The reform of harsh felony laws that had originated in Great Britain was deemed "one of the first fruits of liberty" after the United States became independent.

Classification by subject matter

Felonies may include but are not limited to the following:
Some offenses, though similar in nature, may be felonies or misdemeanors depending on the circumstances. For example, the illegal manufacture, distribution or possession of controlled substances may be a felony, although possession of small amounts may be only a misdemeanor. Possession of a deadly weapon may be generally legal, but carrying the same weapon into a restricted area such as a school may be viewed as a serious offense, regardless of whether there is intent to use the weapon. Additionally, driving under the influence in some US states may be a misdemeanor if a first offense, but a felony on subsequent offenses.

Classification by seriousness

In much of the United States, all or most felonies are placed into one of various classes according to their seriousness and their potential punishment upon conviction. The number of classifications and the corresponding crimes vary by state and are determined by the legislature. Usually, the legislature also determines the maximum punishment allowable for each felony class; doing so avoids the necessity of defining specific sentences for every possible crime. For example:
  • Virginia classifies most felonies by number, ranging from Class 6 through Class 2 up to Class 1. Some felonies remain outside the classification system.
  • New York State classifies felonies by letter, with some classes divided into sub-classes by a Roman numeral; classes range from Class E through Classes D, C, B, and A–II up to Class A–I.
  • Massachusetts classifies a felony as an offense that carries any state prison time.
  • Ohio classifies felonies by degree ranging from first, second, third, fourth, to fifth degree. First-degree felonies are the most serious category, while fifth-degree felonies are the least serious. This is broadly the approach taken by the Model Penal Code, although the Code identifies only three degrees of felony.
  • In Texas, all felonies are more severe than either infractions or misdemeanors and are classified in capital felonies, first-degree felonies, second-degree felonies, third-degree felonies and State jail felonies.
Some felonies are classified as forcible or violent, typically because they contain some element of force or a threat of force against a person and are subject to additional penalties. Burglary is also classified as a forcible felony in some jurisdictions including Illinois and Florida.

Consequences

In many parts of the United States, a felon can experience long-term legal consequences persisting after the end of their imprisonment. The status and designation as a "felon" is considered permanent and is not extinguished upon sentence completion even if parole, probation or early release was given. The status can be cleared only by a successful appeal or executive clemency. However, felons may qualify for restoration of some rights after a certain period of time has passed.
The consequences felons experience in most states include:
Additionally, many job applications and rental applications ask about felony history, and answering dishonestly can be grounds for rejection of the application or termination of employment if the lie is discovered after hire. Convicted felons may not be eligible for certain professional licenses or bonds, while hiring them may raise the cost of an employer's insurance.
It is broadly legal to discriminate against felons in hiring and leasing decisions, so felons can face barriers to finding both jobs and housing. Moreover, a common term of parole agreements is to avoid association with other felons. In some neighborhoods with high rates of felony conviction, this creates a situation in which many felons live under a constant threat of being arrested for violating parole. Banks may refuse to issue loans to felons, and a felony conviction may prevent employment in banking or finance.
In some states, restoration of those rights depends on repayment of various fees associated with the felon's arrest, processing, and prison stay, such as restitution to victims, or outstanding fines.

Restoration of rights

The primary means of restoring civil rights that are lost as a result of a felony conviction are executive clemency and expungement.
For state law convictions, expungement is determined by the law of the state. Many states do not allow expungement, regardless of the offense, though felons can seek pardons and clemency, potentially including restoration of rights.
Federal law does not have any provision for persons convicted of federal felonies in a federal United States district court to apply to have their record expunged. At present the only relief that an individual convicted of a felony in federal court may receive is a presidential pardon, which does not expunge the conviction, but rather grants relief from the civil disabilities that stem from it.

Other jurisdictions

Cameroon

In the law of Cameroon, a felony is a crime for which the maximum sentence is more than 10 years, or death. Felonies are distinguished from misdemeanors and offenses. While lesser crimes are tried before a magistrate's court, felonies must be tried before a high court.
The drafters of the bilingual Cameroonian penal code of 1967 based their work on French law and Nigerian law. In the case of felonies, they chose to set the threshold for felonies much higher than under either French law or Nigerian law. This had the effect of greatly reducing the number of felonies under Cameroonian law. It also reduced the number of crimes that were subject to trial by jury in the courts of East Cameroon at that time.