Felony

A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a "very serious" crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious.

Related Topics:
Common law - Crime - Misdemeanors

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Crimes which are commonly considered to be felonies include: aggravated assault, arson, burglary, murder, and rape. Those who are convicted of a felony are known as felons. Originally, felonies were crimes for which the punishment was either death or forfeiture of property. Nowadays, felons can receive punishments which range in severity; from probation, to imprisonment, to execution. In the United States felons often receive additional punishments such as the loss of voting rights, exclusion from certain lines of work, are prohibited from obtaining certain licenses, may not purchase/possess firearms or bullet-resistant armor, and are not eligible to run for nor be elected to public office. In addition, some states consider a felony conviction to be grounds for an uncontested divorce.

Related Topics:
Aggravated assault - Arson - Burglary - Murder - Rape - Death - Property - Probation - Imprisonment - Execution - United States - Voting rights - State - Divorce

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The distinction between a felony and misdemeanour has been abolished by some common law jurisdictions (e.g. Crimes Act 1958 (Vic., Australia) s. 332B(1), Crimes Act 1900 (NSW., Australia) s. 580E(1)); other jurisdictions maintain the distinction, notably those of the U.S.. Those jurisdictions which have abolished the distinction generally adopt some other classification, e.g. in Canada and New South Wales, Australia, the crimes are divided into summary offences and indictable offences.

Related Topics:
U.S. - Canada - New South Wales - Australia - Summary offence - Indictable offence

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