The basic division of criminal offences by seriousness - which drives the procedure, the possible sentence, and the consequences that outlast it.
American criminal law sorts offences by seriousness, and the division does far more work than a label suggests. The conventional line is the maximum punishment available: a felony is an offence for which imprisonment for more than a year may be imposed, a misdemeanor one where the maximum is a year or less, and many jurisdictions add a third tier of infractions or violations punishable only by a fine. What matters is the maximum available for the offence, not the sentence a particular person receives - a felony conviction with no custodial sentence is still a felony conviction.
The classification determines the procedure. Whether a case begins by indictment or information, whether there is a preliminary hearing, which court hears it, whether a jury is available and how large it is, and how the case is scheduled all commonly turn on it. Many states subdivide further into classes or degrees, each carrying its own sentencing range, and a single course of conduct can support charges at more than one level.
The consequences that outlast the sentence are usually the more significant half, and they are the part most often underestimated at the point a plea is entered. Depending on the jurisdiction and the offence, a conviction can affect eligibility for professional and occupational licences, firearms rights, housing and employment applications, immigration status for a non-citizen, eligibility for some public benefits and student aid, jury service and, in some states, voting. These are usually described as collateral consequences, a term that understates them: for many people they are the enduring effect of the case. Whether a conviction can later be sealed or expunged also depends heavily on this classification.
The line is not drawn identically everywhere. The same conduct can be a felony in one state and a misdemeanor in another, some offences can be charged either way at the prosecutor's discretion, and a charge can be reduced or elevated as a case proceeds. Federal law sorts offences into its own lettered classes on the same maximum-term principle.
The question to put to a lawyer is not only what sentence is likely but what the conviction will still be doing in five years - to a licence, to a lease application, to immigration status, to the ability to have the record sealed later. That is where the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor, or between two classes of the same offence, is usually decisive, and it is why a plea to a lesser offence can be worth more than a shorter sentence. A non-citizen should raise immigration status with defence counsel at the outset rather than after a plea; the analysis turns on federal definitions that do not follow the state label, and counsel is required to advise on it.
These directory pages each list at least one currently published law firm. The list is generated when this page loads, so a page whose listings have lapsed drops out rather than becoming a dead link.