Felonies

9 Key excerpts on "Felonies"

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  Criminal Law

  • Thomas Gardner, Terry Anderson(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  14 PART 1: Basic Concepts of Criminal Law CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIMES Many acts have been designated as criminal offenses in the United States. In 1790, only 20 federal criminal statutes existed. Today, the federal government alone has designated more than 4,500 offenses; 42 of the 51 titles in the federal statutes include listed crimes. A much larger number of state and local offenses exist. 13 The large number of crimes in the United States may be classified as follows: uni25CF According to their sources, as statutory, common law, administrative, or consti- tutional crimes (see later in this chapter). uni25CF As Felonies or misdemeanors; this determines how the crimes are tried and, in many states, affects the law of arrest for such crimes. Many states classify Felonies and misde- meanors as class A, class B, and so forth. In this way, punishment can be standardized, though it is common for each classification to have punishment ranges. As an exam- ple, Section 28-105 of the Nebraska Statutes lists a class IA felony as life imprisonment without parole, a class IB felony as 20 years to life, and a class IC felony as 5 to 50 years. Felony and Misdemeanor The felony/misdemeanor classification is the most common and most important classi - fication of crime. A felony is the most serious type of crime and generally is punished by one year or more in prison or a penitentiary. As of 2015, thirty-one states and the federal government had laws providing for the death penalty for a few very serious Felonies. A misdemeanor is a less serious offense and usually carries a sentence of impris- onment for no more than a year, though some states may provide for longer sentences (Figure 1.1). An offense that does not provide for possible jailing or imprisonment is generally not classified as a crime but rather as a civil offense. For example, ordinary speeding is punished by a fine and imposition of points but is not a crime.

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  A Pattern of Violence

  How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice

  • David A. Sklansky, David Alan Sklansky(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Belknap Press

    (Publisher)

  10 By the late nineteenth century, if not earlier, complaints were voiced that the distinction between Felonies and misdemeanors was “antiquated and unmeaning,” and Great Britain abandoned the distinction in 1967. But the United States has continued to classify crimes as Felonies or mis- demeanors. The Supreme Court has called this distinction “minor,” “highly technical,” and “often arbitrary,” but it remains the most perva- sive way that American law distinguishes between more serious and less serious offenses. 11 The number of crimes classified as Felonies has grown dramatically over the centuries, certainly in absolute numbers and possibly also as a proportion of all crimes. Moreover, the precise set of crimes defined as Felonies varies from state to state. But “felony” has never meant “violent crime.” There have always been nonviolent crimes treated as Felonies, and there have always been violent crimes treated as misdemeanors. The 48 · A P AT T E R N O F V I O L E N C E original, “common law” Felonies, defined not by statute but by judicial decisions, included murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and “mayhem” (which meant, roughly, any intentional and disabling maiming). But the list also included arson, burglary, larceny, and sodomy. Assault was not originally a felony—not even assault with a deadly weapon, or assault with intent to kill. Even today, most assaults are misdemeanors rather than Felonies. 12 The law has distinguished among Felonies in various ways at various times, but until recently—until, roughly, the last half century—none of these distinctions amounted to separating violent from nonviolent crimes. For example, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century law, both in England and in some of the American colonies, made some Felonies but not others eligible for “benefit of clergy,” which was a roundabout use of a legal fiction to spare convicted defendants from the death penalty.

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  Introduction to Law

  • Beth Walston-Dunham(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  Categories of Crime The two basic categories of crimes are felony and misdemeanor. A felony is any offense punishable by death or by imprisonment exceeding one year. A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by fine or by detention of one year or less in a jail or an institution other than a penitentiary. 2 Many states have further divided Felonies and misdemeanors into subclasses, usually for the purpose of sentencing. For example, crimes that are consid -ered Class 1 misdemeanors may carry a heavier penalty than crimes considered Class 2 misdemeanors. Once the classes are established, the various crimes are placed within a class. The definition of the criminal offense itself will indicate the elements necessary for someone to be convicted of the crime. The category and subclass will indicate to the court what sentence should be imposed on someone who is found guilty of that crime. In some cases, a mandatory sentence is required. This means that the judge has no discretion to impose or suspend a sentence. The statute prescribes exactly what the sentence must be. In the absence of a mandatory sentence, the judge usually works within a recommended range of punishments. The judge is responsible for imposing a sentence within this range that will adequately punish the defendant for the crime com -mitted. This range allows the judge to take the circumstances of each case into account. Definition of Crime and the Elements of Criminal Conduct Crime has been defined as conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the fed -eral government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justifi -cation or excuse. 3 In more general terms, criminal conduct refers to acts that may be injurious not only to an individual but also, and more importantly, to society. All persons in society should have the right to expect and enjoy certain basic privileges, including privacy, ownership of property, and physical safety.

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  American common law and the principle nullum crimen sine lege

  • Stanislaw Pomorski(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter Mouton

    (Publisher)

  Kelly, 218 Minn. 247 (1944). 71 Dutten v. State, 23 Md. 373 (1914). Compare also J. P. Bishop, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 448; W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, op. cit., p. 63. 72 This treatment is connected with the so-called felony-murder rule, a medieval common-law rule, applied until present in the American law. The felony-murder rule was, at least formally, abolished in England. 7 3 S. Glueck, L. Hall, op. cit., p. 12. 122 tion of an offense as a felony or a misdemeanor. For the purposes of substantive criminal law the following should be mentioned here: 1. A burglary is defined at common law as breaking and entering another's dwelling house at night with intent to commit a f e l o n y ; 2. There exists a common law crime of compounding of felony, which is committed by one who for a consideration agrees not to prosecute for, or to keep quiet about, a felony (but not a misdemeanor) he knows has been committed; 3. At common law parties involved in Felonies are divided into principals and accessories, whereas with misdemeanors all parties are considered principals. 74 Outside the field of criminal law classifying a crime as a felony or as a misdemeanor is also of importance. Conviction for felony usually: 1) disqualifies a convicted person from hold-ing a public office; 2) deprives him of rights to vote, to serve as a juror, to practice as an attorney and to practice medicine; 3) constitutes a ground for divorce. 75 The Model Penal Code introduced a classification some-what different from the traditional one. 76 How does the problem of common law offenses in American law present itself in the light of the hitherto discussed rules of the classification of crimes? An analysis of the methods of penalization provides an answer to this question. If there is no distinct statutory regu-lation, a common law misdemeanor under American law is ordinarily punished with either a fine or imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of the court.

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  Books, Crooks, and Counselors

  How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure

  • Leslie Budewitz(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Quill Driver Books

    (Publisher)

  3

  Crime …

  IN THE LAST CHAPTER, WE TALKED ABOUT CRIMINAL procedure. Now it’s on to substantive criminal law. You’ll learn the concept of the elements of a crime, how they vary, and how they’re proven—and we’ll see more of those all-important differences in terminology. Then it’s on to a few recurring topics in fact and fiction: gun laws, hacking, juvenile justice, false allegations of abuse, mental competence, and the insanity defense.

  What’s the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?

  The difference is largely one of degree, a reflection of the legislature’s judgment—on behalf of the people—of the seriousness of a crime. Felonies include intentional killings and certain unintentional killings (like vehicular homicide and manslaughter), sexual intercourse without consent, kidnaping, arson, robbery, burglary, escape, and distribution of dangerous drugs. Misdemeanors include possession of small amounts of drugs or drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct, trespass, indecent exposure, solicitation (aka prostitution), and some traffic offenses.

  B lack’s Law Dictionary says the root of felony is felonia, “the act or offense by which a vassal forfeited his fee.” Who knew? Misdemeanor, meaning “misdeed,” dates back to fifteenth-century England; it initially meant crimes not subject to forfeiture, but evolved to refer generally to less serious crimes. Merriam-Webster traces hoosegow to the Spanish juzcado, or courtroom; how it came to mean jail is a mystery.

  Some crimes—notably assault—may be either Felonies or misdemeanors. Some states classify assaults into aggravated or simple, while others define them separately, e.g., partner assault, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a sports official, with each classified as a felony or misdemeanor. The degree of intent and possible harm makes the difference.

  Some states establish classes of Felonies and misdemeanors, e.g., A, B, C, with punishment differing for each class. Felonies typically carry prison terms, while misdemeanors are punished by fines and up to a year in the local hoosegow.

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  A Modern View of The Criminal Law

  Pergamon Modern Legal Outlines

  • S. W. Stewart, W. A. J. Farndale(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  (e) A sentence in excess of twelve months' imprisonment for felony was followed by disqualification from holding public office, voting at elections, becoming a Member of Parlia-1 See Chap. 9. Classification of Criminal Offences 41 ment, and, theoretically, the receipt of a pension. Such disqualifications did not generally apply to persons con-victed of misdemeanour. T H E C R I M I N A L L A W A C T , 1 9 6 7 — A R R E S T A B L E O F F E N C E S The Criminal Law Act, Part 1 of which implements the recommendations contained in the Criminal Law Revision Com-mittee's Seventh Report entitled Felonies and Misdemeanours, 1 makes provisions which abolish the division of offences into Felonies and misdemeanours and also provides for the amend-ments to the law which will necessarily be required by this abolition. Section 1 of the Act states that all distinctions between felony and misdemeanour are hereby abolished and goes on to provide that subject to the provisions of the Act, the law and practice applicable to misdemeanour, including that relating to mode of trial, is to be applied to all offences. One of the most important distinctions between felony and misdemeanour was that the power of summary arrest, i.e. arrest without warrant was considerably wider in respect of felony. The Act provides that in future summary arrest will depend upon whether or not the offence comes within a new classification of arrestable offence. Section 2 of the Act defines an arrestable offence as one for which the sentence is fixed by law or for which a person (not previously convicted) may under or by virtue of any enactment be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years, and to attempts to commit any such offence. The section also provides details when summary arrest may be affected in relation to an arrestable offence: (a) By any person, anyone who is or whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects to be in the act of committing such an offence. 1 Cmnd. 2659. M.V.C.L.—C

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  Felony and the Guilty Mind in Medieval England

  • Elizabeth Papp Kamali(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  Defining felony by its consequences sidesteps the difficulties of pinning down the word’s meaning. References to felony in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries suggest that the word “felony” itself, even when used in legal records, often connoted something much more abstruse and intangible than the consequences of forfeiture and capital punishment. Even Maitland, who was inclined to emphasize the legal effects of felony, conceded that the word, at least in the thirteenth century, implied “a certain gravity in the harm done and a certain wickedness in the doer of it.” 69 Discerning this meaning of felony requires a close reading of the plea rolls informed by an equally close reading of the way in which words of felony were employed in the broader corpus of English, Latin, and French texts circulating in medieval England. This may help explain the curious phrase from the trial in this chapter’s opening pages, in which several men accused of killing a notorious thief were described as not suspected of any felony committed feloniously. 66 Kamali and Green, “Crossroads,” 52 and n. 4. On the law of rape, see generally Caroline Dunn, Stolen Women in Medieval England: Rape, Abduction and Adultery, 1100–1500 (Cambridge University Press, 2013). 67 Kesselring, “Felony Forfeiture,” 203. 68 Bentham, Rationale of Punishment, 369–70. 69 P&M, vol. 2, 467. See also “Felony and Its Incidents,” Law Magazine, or Quarterly Review of Jurisprudence 18:2 (1837), 357–58; Baker, Introduction to English Legal History, 523. But see Kaye, “Early History, Part I,” 372–73. 48 Part I Felonia Felonice Facta 2 Felony in the Archives words of felony in law and literature Ah! Thou, Judas, traitor, thief, Most felonous in the land! Of thy great wickedness May all this world now learn.

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  Criminal Law

  • Charles P. Nemeth(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In addition to this approach, criminal codes further divide up the offense categories according to degree. Murder in the first degree, second degree, and third degree; rape in the first and second degree all offer glimpses into a statutory design that distinguishes criminal acts from both factual and penalty perspectives. Generally, the codifier uses a higher–lower continuum to subsume each imaginable category of the named offense, for murderers commit murder under varied facts and motivations. The premeditating murderer is a radically different animal than the passionate one whose intent is clouded by emotion and provocation. Definitionally, the degree system recognizes that every crime’s facts go beyond a universal template, where all perpetrators are adjudged identi-cally. The degree continuum understands the level and sophistication of the criminal agent and metes out punishment and elemental requirements in accordance with these differences. § 775.081. Classifications of Felonies and Misdemeanors 1. Felonies are classified, for the purpose of sentence and for any other purpose specifically provided by statute, into the following categories: (a) Capital felony (b) Life felony (c) Felony of the first degree (d) Felony of the second degree (e) Felony of the third degree A capital felony and a life felony must be so designated by statute. Other Felonies are of the particular degree designated by statute. Any crime declared by statute to be a felony without specification of degree is of the third degree, except that this provision shall not affect Felonies punishable by life imprisonment for the first offense. 2. Misdemeanors are classified, for the purpose of sentence and for any other purpose spe-cifically provided by statute, into the following categories: (a) Misdemeanor of the first degree (b) Misdemeanor of the second degree A misdemeanor is of the particular degree designated by statute.

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  Criminal Law

  Historical, Ethical, and Moral Foundations

  • Charles P. Nemeth(Author)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In addition to this approach, criminal codes further divide up the offense categories according to degree. Murder in the first degree, second degree, and third degree, rape in the first and second degree all offer glimpses into a statutory design that distinguishes criminal acts from both factual and penalty perspectives. Generally, the codifier uses a higher-lower continuum to subsume each imaginable category of the named offense, for murderers commit murder under varied facts and motivations. The premeditating murderer is a radically different animal than the passionate one whose intent is clouded by emotion and provocation. Definitionally, the degree system recognizes that every crime’s facts go beyond a universal template, where all perpetrators are adjudged identically. The degree continuum understands the level and sophistication of the criminal agent and metes out punishment and elemental requirements in accordance with these differences.

  § 775.081. Classifications of Felonies and Misdemeanors

  1. Felonies are classified, for the purpose of sentencing and for any other purpose specifically provided by statute, into the following categories:
     1. Capital felony
     2. Life felony
     3. Felony of the first degree
     4. Felony of the second degree
     5. Felony of the third degree
     A capital felony and a life felony must be so designated by statute. Other Felonies are of the particular degree designated by statute. Any crime declared by statute to be a felony without specification of degree is of the third degree, except that this provision shall not affect Felonies punishable by life imprisonment for the first offense.
  2. Misdemeanors are classified, for the purpose of sentencing and for any other purpose specifically provided by statute, into the following categories:
     1. Misdemeanor of the first degree
     2. Misdemeanor of the second degree
     A misdemeanor is of the particular degree designated by statute. Any crime declared by statute to be a misdemeanor without specification of degree is of the second degree.45

  Other gradation methods may employ separate classifications for offenses, such as Class A, B, C, E, and so on. The “lower” the letter the worse the offense. The same may be true with a numbering system that seeks to define criminal offenses into Class 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

  § 55.05. Classifications of Felonies and Misdemeanors

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