Felony

A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious.^[1] 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;^[2] 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 the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, crimes are no longer classified as felonies or misdemeanors. Instead, serious crimes are classified as indictable offences, and less serious crimes as summary offences.

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).

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.^[3] Some individual states classify crimes by other factors, such as seriousness or context.

^ Faulker, Sarah (Summer 2000). "Invasion of the Information Snatchers: Creating Liability for Corporations with Vulnerable Computer Networks". The John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law. 18 (4): 1025. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Wigmore, John H. (1979). Evidence in trials at common law. Little Brown. p. 520. ISBN 0316845590.
^ 18 U.S.C. § 3559

[1] Faulker, Sarah (Summer 2000). "Invasion of the Information Snatchers: Creating Liability for Corporations with Vulnerable Computer Networks". The John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law. 18 (4): 1025. Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[2] Wigmore, John H. (1979). Evidence in trials at common law. Little Brown. p. 520. ISBN 0316845590.

[3] 18 U.S.C. § 3559

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