Aggravated-assault Sentence Examples

Legal abbreviations, especially criminal charges, can come in handy. Not only are they used on rap sheets but also by companies doing background checks. Knowing what each different criminal charge abbreviation means can be important, especially when it comes to felonies and misdemeanors. To keep your head above water, learn the common criminal charge abbreviations for adults and juveniles.

In the United States federal criminal code, crimes are divided into two broad categories: misdemeanors and felonies. The distinction here is one of maximum punishment; misdemeanors are crimes that carry a maximum of one year of jail time and felonies are crimes with punishments in excess of 12 months of incarceration.

So, what are examples of felonies and misdemeanors? Unfortunately, the answer to that is not so cut and dry. A crime can have the same general classification but be broken down into several levels of severity, some of which may raise the seriousness from a misdemeanor to a felony. Let’s take a closer look.