{"id":663,"date":"2023-09-19T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T16:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/?p=663"},"modified":"2023-10-03T06:12:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:12:27","slug":"felony-or-misdemeanor-what-is-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/felony-or-misdemeanor-what-is-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Felony or Misdemeanor: What Is the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Many people understand the severity of having a felony or misdemeanor conviction on their record, but they don\u2019t necessarily understand the difference between the two. Both felonies and misdemeanors can result in serious legal and professional consequences, but they are not the same. What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in the state of Maryland? <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Misdemeanors vs. Felonies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Misdemeanors are typically heard in District Court and\ninclude penalties like fines, jail time, and probation. You can also receive\npoints on your license as a result of a misdemeanor conviction that is\ndriving-related. A felony offense is more serious, and the case will be heard\nin Circuit Court. You can have a jury trial or bench trial for a felony\nconviction, and penalties will be much harsher for a conviction. Felony\npenalties include significant jail time, steep fines, and probation. Additionally,\nmany felonies do not have a statute of limitations for being charged, like\nmurder and manslaughter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Examples of Misdemeanors? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  • Theft of $1,000 or less<\/li>
  • Drunk driving, including DWI and DUI convictions<\/li>
  • Vandalism<\/li>
  • Traffic offenses, including reckless driving<\/li>
  • Second-degree assault<\/li>
  • Failure to appear<\/li>
  • Minor drug possession without intent to\ndistribute <\/li>
  • Simple assault<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    What Are Examples of Felonies? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    • Murder<\/li>
    • First-degree assault<\/li>
    • Robbery<\/li>
    • Sexual assault<\/li>
    • Property crimes, including burglary, arson, and\nmajor theft<\/li>
    • Fraud<\/li>
    • Theft over $1,000<\/li>
    • Drug possession with the intent to distribute<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Felonies include incredibly serious crimes, but some of the\nmost common felonies are felony thefts. In the state of Maryland, any theft\nthat is $1,001 or greater is considered a felony charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Why Does the Distinction Matter? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Felony convictions carry a heavier weight in a variety of\nways. Your conviction may disqualify you from being able to serve on a jury or\nimmigrate to the United States. Additionally, it can prevent you from being\nhired for a government job. A felony charge can also impact your eligibility\nfor public housing, your ability to work in law enforcement, your ability to\nbecome a lawyer, or your ability to vote. Many other jobs also require\nbackground checks, and a felony conviction can prevent you from working the job\nthat you\u2019re hoping to start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You Need Representation for Your Case from The Law Office of Elizabeth Anu\nLawrence <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      If you are worried about the outcome of your DUI or DWI case,\nchoose an experienced firm like the Law Office of Elizabeth Anu Lawrence to\ngive you the help you need.  Please give\nus a call at 443.352.3201. Skype and telephone consultation are both available\nto clients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Felony and misdemeanor are legal terms that are commonly tossed around, but many people don\u2019t understand the difference between the two. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":665,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663\/revisions\/665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}