Under the United States legal system, a felony is one way to classify a crime. Very serious crimes are considered felonies. A crime classified as a misdemeanor is much less serious when compared to a felony.

There are a number of crimes that are classified as felonies. Rape, murder, kidnapping, battery, aggravated assault, treason, robbery, grand theft, fraud, burglary, racketeering, espionage, and several others are classified as felonies. Depending on the crime, a felony can result in required community service, imprisonment, fines, probation, and even death. Often times, a person that has been convicted of numerous felony charges will face more sever punishment when compared to a first-time felony offender.

There are several other less serious consequences related to felony charges. Convicted felons may not be able to receive particular licenses in their state or other states and also lose their right to vote in some states. Convicted felons are often prohibited from purchasing firearms and other related items.

Both the state and federal court systems handle felony crime cases depending on the crime as well its location. Generally, when a crime that is classified as a felony is committed against the United States Government or occurs in more than one state, the person will be tried on the federal level. Some other special circumstances can determine this as well. Felony cases can be tried on the state level for various reasons.

There are only a few felonies punishable by death. Some of these include espionage, treason, and murder. There are many homicide related crimes and a few non-homicide crimes that are punishable by the death penalty on the federal level. Some states have banned the death penalty. Some of the more serious felony charges can result in life imprisonment as well.

There are some situations in which a crime can be either considered a felony or misdemeanor depending on very specific criteria. For example, Drug possession, distributing, or manufacturing will be classified as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on quantities and other criteria. The classification of weapons possession charges may depend on where the crime took place and other criteria. For example, a person that illegally possesses a weapon in a federal building will be classified differently than a regular weapons possessions charge.

Some states have chosen to further classify felonies into other subdivisions. Also, some states allow convicted felons to have their criminal records cleared while many others do not.

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