Criminal Law

If there is a felony warrant outstanding against you, you face the prospect of being arrested and kept in jail for at least a short period of time. The first thing to do is find out what the...

Signing a warrant is the last step in making a criminal complaint against someone. It's also a very significant step in the criminal justice process. However, a person should be equally aware that...

In United States law, a felony is the more serious of two basic classifications of crimes that can be committed, the other being a misdemeanor. The two are distinguished by their punishments; a...

Want to expunge a felony? In most states, felonies can be expunged if you meet certain requirements. Having a felony expunged can open up many social and job opportunities for you. Here is a step...

Probation may be ordered instead of jail or prison time in some felony cases. If you have been sentenced to complete felony probation, you are probably aware that there is a set limit of time in...

Finding a suitable position of employment in the best of circumstances is a challenging task. If you have a felony conviction on your record, obtaining gainful employment is an even more daunting...

Child abandonment, or the act of leaving a child unsupervised for an extended period of time jeopardizing their safety is a very serious crime in Illinois. Such an act is regulated by the Illinois...

Each state has different rules and terms for sealing or vacating criminal records. In most cases, you must file a petition with the court that handled your case and explain why you qualify to have...

Having a felony on your record can make it difficult to obtain employment, pass a credit check, get approved for housing, vote or hold public office. Depending on your state of residence, there...

Sentencing guidelines are considered by a judge or jury after a defendant is convicted of a crime. Defendants who lose civil lawsuits receive judgments rather than sentences that often are...

States across the nation are increasing penalties for perpetrators of identity theft. Tennessee is no exception, with the Tennessee Code providing stiff penalties for identity thieves.

There are two types of crime in American law; misdemeanors, which include the less serious levels of crime, and felonies, which include the more serious levels of crime. Felonies are further...

If you have a felony conviction on your record, you likely dread the prospect of looking for employment. By understanding how to get a job with a felony record, you will find the employment hunt...

Having a felony conviction on a criminal record often has a profound effect on employment, financial applications, and other opportunities that would otherwise be easier to seize. Fortunately, the...

There is a very large drug problem in this country today, and drug offenders often see the inside of a 8 by 10 cell. There may be some light shed for the offenders looking at first time drug...

Federal and state governments have passed laws to prohibit the exploitation of children, which is an enormous problem in the United States. The Internet's growth has permitted sexual predators to...

Criminal mischief is the crime of damaging property owned by another person. Criminal mischief is also commonly known as "vandalism" though it can also share elements of theft or product...

Probation is a sentence often given out to offenders who have either committed felonies or misdemeanors. The terms of probation and the consequences of violating probation differ if the probation...

A felony conviction will follow you for as long as you let it. As a convicted felon, you are stripped of some of your Constitutional rights, but you are still a citizen of the United States of...

Some states impose additional punishment on suspects that evade the authorities after committing crimes by creating the separate crime of "evading arrest." A criminal suspect who is evading arrest...

A felony is the most serious crime that a person can commit. The United States Federal Government describes a felony as any crime which has a potential punishment of one year or longer in prison....

Felony convictions carry lasting collateral consequences. The precise rights denied to persons with felony convictions vary state to state, and include loss of rights to vote, to serve on juriesor...

Ann left her barn unlocked while on vacation and now her lawnmower is missing. Someone entered Bob's home unlawfully but didn't steal anything. Were they victims of burglary? Read on to...

To file a false police report in Michigan is a crime. A person who intentionally makes a false report of a crime or causes a false report to be made by another person may be found guilty of either...

The word "mischief" is derived from an Old French root that means "to end badly." For many individuals, primarily juveniles, this is exactly what happens if they habitually spray graffiti where...

For anyone convicted of a felony, there can be no doubting the negative impacts on his life. Public attitudes have steadily hardened again, following brief periods of social permissiveness during...

A felony bench warrant is a serious legal document. If a warrant like this is issued, it means that a person who was supposed to appear in court, hasn't. When a judge orders a bench warrant the...

A person who has committed a felony will have a record that will stay with them for an extended period of time. A felony conviction, however, does not necessarily mean a life of hopelessness and...

Sentencing rules for criminal convictions in the state of Arizona depend on the classification of the crime committed. Crimes are first classified as either a felony or misdemeanor, and then...

Burglary is one of the most common crimes in the U.S. However, the definition of burglary differs. Originally, in common law, there was one definition of burglary that the U.S. inherited from...

When a crime is committed and there is enough evidence to implicate a suspect, a warrant of arrest may be issued by a court of law (or one of the chambers of the U.S. Congress or other...

In California, the rules for "expungement" fall under 1203.4 PC (dismissal) and 17 PC (reduction of a felony to a misdemeanor). Expungement implies the charges and arrests will be...

A felony is the most serious crime of which people in the United States can be convicted. While there are different degrees of felonies, this type of crime stays on a person's criminal record...

A felony arrest warrant may be issued to detain a person in police custody until an arraignment is scheduled. A felony is a higher level of criminal offense committed--usually punishable by a...

Voting in elections is a right that is given to all U.S. citizens when they turn 18 years old. Many people do not understand the importance of this right until it is taken away. When convicted of...

If you've been convicted of a felony in the USA you lose a lot of rights - it can affect your credit score, your ability to get a job, your right to vote, etc. When a felony is expunged from your...

Felonies are typically the most serious crimes in the criminal justice system. Felonies include such crimes as murder, rape, robbery and arson. Prison sentences upon a conviction can range...

Generations of TV cop drama viewers are well-acquainted with the visual details of an arrest--from the reading of a criminal suspect's rights to the final definitive click of handcuffs when the...

Those convicted of a felony still have the benefits of school programs and jobs. Discriminating against a convicted felon is not allowed, and laws have been passed to keep this from happening. ...

For all people convicted of federal crimes, sentencing is determined by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. A federal judge will review these guidelines when imposing sentencing.

A convicted felon is, by definition, someone who has been convicted of a felony. Under law, a felony is the most severe class of crime. Most people who are convicted of a felony spend time in...

There are various reasons for people to track down a convicted felon. For instance, if someone has a relative who has been convicted of a felony and gone to jail, they may wish to find that...

Greetings to you, It is rather easy to obtain a felony "credential" these days. Several generations ago, drugs were not illegal in the U.S., and offenses like hot checks and DWI's did...

A juvenile petition authorizes a juvenile justice court to hear and decide matters in which a person under the age of 18 commits a crime. The filing of such a petition is a very necessary step in...

People with a felony on their criminal record may have difficulty getting a job, due to their imperfect background checks. The only way to remove a felony from a criminal record is to have it...

When you are convicted of a felony, you may be ordered to a period of incarceration followed by parole, or you may be sentenced to probation. Additionally, you may be ordered to pay fines and...

Criminal law is distinctively different from all others types of law. If you are charged with a crime, you'll benefit from an understanding of criminal law. Many people do not realize that only a...

There are many legal terms thrown around these days. They are seen on popular TV shows and in the news, but many of these terms are misused or misunderstood. Here is a quick reference material for...

Getting an expungement of a felony conviction is not difficult to do. However, it is important that people know the process in doing so. Lawyers charge a lot of money for a process that is...

Writing a felony conviction pardon is a process that requires a lot of care and attention to detail, as well as some working knowledge of the laws and statutes that apply to you. A felony...