A felony may be punishable with imprisonment for one or more years or death in the case of the most serious felonies, such as murder.

All felonies remain considered a serious crime, but concerns of proportionality ( i. e., that the punishment fit the crime ) have in modern times prompted legislatures to require or permit the imposition of less serious punishments, ranging from lesser terms of imprisonment to the substitution of a jail sentence or even the suspension of all incarceration contingent upon a defendant's successful completion of probation.

In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony ; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence — an offence that requires an indictment.

Those previously found guilty of serious crimes ( felonies ) were also barred as were gladiator for hire, who likely were hired to resolve disputes through trial by combat.

During the professionalism era of policing, law enforcement agencies concentrated on dealing with felonies and other serious crime, rather than broader focus on crime prevention.

Moreover in some civil law countries ( e. g.: Italy, Spain ) delicts are most serious crimes, similar to felonies in common law countries, whereas in other states ( e. g.: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark ), they are crimes of intermediate seriousness ( less serious than those termed crimes ).

The three strikes law significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of a felony who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, and limits the ability of these offenders to receive a punishment other than a life sentence.

Violent and serious felonies are specifically listed in state laws.

Some states require all three felony convictions to be for violent crimes in order for the mandatory sentence to be pronounced, while California mandates the enhanced sentence for any third felony conviction so long as the first two felonies were deemed to be either " violent " or " serious ," or both.

But it reflects a rational legislative judgment, entitled to deference, that offenders who have committed serious or violent felonies and who continue to commit felonies must be incapacitated.

Moving violations are usually classified as infractions or misdemeanors, but serious violations such as hit and run, driving under the influence, and road rage can be considered felonies.

These include a special health plan, the Beihilfe, which covers 50 % of most health care expenses, the other part being the responsibility of the Beamter himself and usually being covered by buying private ensurance ; an index-linked pension of at most 71. 5 % of the last salary, paid directly by the state rather than by the usual public pension insurance ; and most importantly, the virtual impossibility of losing one's job-basically, the state may transfer Beamte who do not perform well to other, often less desirable, posts, but may only terminate employment entirely in cases of serious felonies.

The punishment for serious and cruel felonies must be severe, and must be just.

# The defendant has previously been convicted of a capital felony or has a history of committing serious felonies.

One of the more controversial sections of the California Penal Code are the consecutive Sections 666 and 667 ; Section 666, known officially as petty theft with a prior — and colloquially, felony petty theft — makes it possible for someone who committed a minor shoplifting crime to be charged with a felony if the person had been convicted of any theft-related offense at any time in the past ; and if the person so charged has two previous felony convictions ( listed as serious or violent felonies offenses ), this can result in a 25-years-to-life sentence under the state's three strikes law, which is found in Section 667.

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious ( Class A ) misdemeanors in the United States federal courts system.

The DLRA also reduced the minimum penalty for conviction on the most serious ( A-I felony ) drug charge in New York from 15-life to 8 years in prison for an offender with no prior felonies.

Proponents of felony disenfranchisement contend that felonies are, by definition, serious crimes, and that persons who commit felonies have ' broken ' the social contract and have thereby given up their right to participate in a civil society.

*, less serious felonies and misdemeanors, which are heard by the Criminal Court (, also called the Correctional Court )

In Houston, there were a few incidents of friction between whites and Negroes, none of which were serious.

We should spread the view that planning and national development are serious matters which call for effort as well as enthusiasm.

There are serious dangers involved in this trend toward rising Federal expenditures, of which I take a dim view, but it seems very likely to occur.

That a writer who is gay cannot be serious is a common professional illusion, sedulously fostered by all too many academics who mistakenly believe that their frivolous efforts should be taken seriously because they are expressed with that dreary solemnity which is the only mode of expression their authors are capable of.

And if the affection for the suburban branch reflects a desire to shop with `` nice people '', rather than with the indiscriminate urban mass which supports the downtown department store, the central location may be in serious trouble.

Interruptions came largely from the bench, which numerous times rebuked the Attorney General for letting his witnesses run on, though it, too, made no serious effort to choke off the flow.

The largest structure ever made from adobe ( bricks ) was the Bam Citadel, which suffered serious damage ( up to 80 %) by an earthquake on December 26, 2003.

In October 2010, John Graham-Cumming started a campaign to raise funds by " public subscription " to enable serious historical and academic study of Babbage's plans, with a view to then build and test a fully working virtual design which will then in turn enable construction of the physical Analytical Engine.

While anagramming is certainly a recreation first, there are ways in which anagrams are put to use, and these can be more serious, or at least not quite frivolous and formless.

A common assault is an assault that lacks any of the aggravating features which Parliament has deemed serious enough to deserve a higher penalty.

Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that common assault, like battery, is triable only in the magistrates ' court in England and Wales ( unless it is linked to a more serious offence, which is triable in the Crown Court ).

In his sermons on capital sins, Alain argued that sodomy and homicide are the most serious sins, since they call forth the wrath of God, which led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Due to the enormous amount of traffic at the Aachen road interchange, there is often serious traffic accumulation, which is why there are plans to expand the interchange in the coming years.

In 1857, on a return trip from Washington, his train derailed causing serious damage to his right arm which would plague him in the future.

However, there are specific types of antibiotics with which alcohol should be avoided completely, because of serious side-effects.

This is a work that bridges the gap between serious symbolic meaning and the type of critical absurdity with which Jarry would soon become associated.

Phase II also included changes to the underlying inter-networking protocols to make them less " chatty ", which had previously been a serious problem on networks that bridged over wide-area networks.

Excess calcium from supplements, fortified food and high-calcium diets, can cause milk-alkali syndrome, which has serious toxicity and can be fatal.

When Nintendo revived the industry, they signed up software development companies to create NES games under a strict license agreement which imposed serious restrictions on what they were allowed to do.

* One of the more serious of these side effects is tardive dyskinesia, in which the sufferer may show repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements ( that are permanent and have no cure ) often of the lips, face, legs, or torso.

A number of serious concerns about the technical abilities of the system came to light, many of which reached popular magazines such as Scientific American.

Shortly after taking office, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 on February 5, which required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition.

Sections of the Una river and villages at the base of Mount Plješevica are in Croatia, while some are in Bosnia, which causes an excessive number of border crossings on a single route and impedes any serious development in the region.

* Paraguayan War ( 1864 – 1870 ): Over 200, 000 Brazilians fought on this conflict, which is considered as the most serious in Brazilian history.

He gained nominations to contest progressively safer seats at two subsequent General Elections and was in both cases elected, for Shrewsbury in 1841 ( despite serious opposition, and financial difficulties which opponents seized on ), and then for Buckinghamshire county in 1847.