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 (from the French medieval word "félonie") 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.
Some common law countries and jurisdictions no longer classify crimes as felonies or misdemeanors and instead use other distinctions, such as by classifying serious crimes as indictable offenses and less serious crimes as summary offenses.
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. Individual states may classify crimes by other factors, such as seriousness or context.
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 (or délits) are less serious. In still others (such as Brazil and Portugal), crimes and delicts are synonymous (more serious) and are opposed to contraventions (less serious).
Overview.
Classification by subject matter.
Felonies may include but are not limited to the following:
Murder.
Aggravated assault or battery.
Manslaughter (unintentional killing of another).
Animal cruelty.
Arson.
High speed chase.
Burglary.
Robbery/Extortion.
Tax evasion.
Fraud.
Cybercrime.
Identity theft.
The manufacture, sale, distribution, or possession with intent to distribute certain types or quantities of illegal drugs.
In some jurisdictions, the possession of certain types of illegal drugs for personal use.
Grand larceny or grand theft, for example, larceny or theft above a certain statutorily established value or quantity of goods.
Vandalism on federal property.
Impersonation of a law enforcement officer with intention of deception.
Treason.
Rape/sexual assault.
Kidnapping.
Obstruction of justice.
Perjury.
Copyright infringement.
Child pornography.
Forgery.
Threatening an official (police officer, judge).
Blackmail.
Driving under the influence (certain DUI cases involving bodily injury and/or death. In some jurisdictions property damage over a certain amount elevates a DUI charge to a felony as well).
