Misdemeanors are crimes that can put you in jail for as long as one year. Felonies are worse crimes that usually mean you’ll go to prison for more than one year. This basic difference determines how everything else works in criminal law.
On top of that, there are crimes against property and crimes against a person. Crimes against property usually mean someone damages or breaks into another person’s home, but they also cover crimes where someone damages or steals personal belongings. Crimes against a person happen when someone hurts or injures another person’s body.
Courts manage these two types of crimes differently and the punishments are different too. With property crimes, courts look at how much money was lost and who owns what. Crimes against a person are about someone being hurt or being in danger. This difference changes everything from how much bail costs to how long someone goes to prison.
Some common property crimes are burglary, arson, embezzlement, larceny, robbery, and false pretenses. Some crimes against a person include false imprisonment, kidnapping, murder, manslaughter, and felony murder. Felony murder is when someone dies while the defendant is committing another dangerous felony. These dangerous felonies include rape, robbery, burglary, arson, and kidnapping.
Plenty of criminal offenses can be either misdemeanors or felonies. What actually happened in each case helps prosecutors figure out which charge to go with. When we’re talking about crimes against property, the more damage someone does or the more expensive the stolen items are, the more likely prosecutors will charge it as a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
For crimes against a person, the worse someone gets hurt, the more likely it turns into a felony charge. Some factors that can turn a crime into a felony include if someone used force during the crime, if they used a weapon, or if they hurt a child, an elderly person, or a police officer.
These factors can completely change what someone gets charged with. What could have been a basic push can turn into aggravated assault if there’s a weapon involved. When someone hurts vulnerable people like children or the elderly they get much harsher punishments because these groups need the most protection.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Felonies?
But even after they leave the courtroom, the problems keep coming. The judge might also order them to pay restitution, which means they have to pay back the victim for any losses they caused when they committed the crime. Here’s an example of how this works. Let’s say someone commits aggravated battery and the victim ends up with serious injuries that need expensive medical treatment. The judge can order the defendant to pay for these medical bills as part of their restitution.
Sometimes the victim can also sue the defendant in civil court. Civil court works differently than criminal court and the victim could get money for pain and suffering, lost wages and other damages that criminal court doesn’t cover.
The financial hit can be devastating. The reason victims go to civil court is because they can get more types of compensation there than they can through criminal restitution alone. When someone gets badly hurt, their medical bills can hit tens of thousands of dollars. And if you’re the defendant, your bank accounts, property and other assets can be seized to pay these judgments, sometimes for years and years.
When you commit a felony, you’re looking at even more penalties. Some of these problems can stick with you for the rest of your life. If someone commits a sex crime like rape or possessing child pornography, they’ll probably have to register as a sex offender. In most states, people with felony convictions also lose their right to vote. Plenty of states will cancel professional licenses like law licenses and they’ll take away permits like gun permits.
When you have a felony conviction, professional licensing boards will look at your case individually. You could lose a career that took you years to build, just like that. Some licenses get cancelled automatically. But others make you go through hearings first. When these regulated professions are suddenly closed off to you, it gets hard to make a decent living.
What Other Weapons Can A Felon Have?
When a person gets convicted of a felony, they lose some of their rights. Two of the main ones are the right to vote and the right to own a firearm.
If the person was convicted of a violent felony or one where they used a firearm, the law says they can’t own one anymore. This might help stop them from committing similar crimes later on and it might make other people think twice before they commit felony crimes. But there’s more to these restrictions than just punishing people. Courts look at if someone with a violent conviction should have access to firearms, and they usually see it as too risky in most cases. They look at each case individually, based on what crime the person committed and what the circumstances were.
Also, different states might define what counts as a firearm differently. For example, whether a handgun and a flare gun are considered firearms. There might also be different laws for people convicted of white collar felony crimes.
Even though people who are convicted of a felony usually can’t own a firearm, they may be able to own other types of weapons. They still have a right to protect themselves and their homes, so the law lets them use other weapons. But this changes from state to state. Some examples of what they may be allowed to own include knives that have blades shorter than a certain length, crossbows or bows and arrows, and pellet guns. People still have the right to defend themselves even after they’ve been convicted of a felony. States work to balance public safety with allowing people to protect themselves. The weapons you’re allowed to have depend on where you live.
With that said, convicted felons still need to follow any laws or regulations for these types of weapons. The fact that felons can own these other weapons means they can still go hunting. The law stops felons from owning firearms primarily to lower the chance of them using a firearm to commit another crime.
Find My Lawyer Now!
What Are the Consequences of Felon Gun Possession?
In most cases, felons are still allowed to spend time with or be around someone who owns a gun. But it can get tough when the gun itself is around, or if the person who owns the gun lives with the convicted felon. The line gets even less obvious when you’re talking about shared spaces like homes or cars.
There are times when a convicted felon may be found guilty of “constructive possession” of a firearm. This happens if the convicted felon knew that the firearm was in the home or place they lived and they had the ability to get to the gun. Think of it as legal possession without ever touching the gun. This also happens in situations where the firearm is in a truck or car. An example would be if they borrowed a car and knew it had a gun in it, or if they were riding in a car that had a gun. Courts look at these situations pretty broadly.
Some laws make distinctions between when a felon possesses a gun and when a felon actually owns a gun. This difference can change what happens to them legally. This distinction between possession and ownership shapes how prosecutors build their cases. With possession charges, prosecutors look at if you had access to the weapon and control over it. Ownership charges include legal title and buying history. Your defense strategy will depend completely on which type of charge you might have.
If a felon possesses a firearm, that’s a felony crime in itself. This crime is usually punished with a prison sentence that ranges from one to three years, though this depends on your state’s laws. You might also have to pay criminal fines and face other penalties. Federal charges usually carry much longer sentences than cases at the state level, and each time you violate these laws, it gives you a separate criminal record that follows you through the court system. With that said, different courts and states work with these cases in their own ways.
Also, if you’re found guilty of this crime, it would hurt your ability to ever own a firearm later on. If it’s your second or third offense, you might face much harsher criminal punishments.
Can You Get Your Gun Rights Back?
Sometimes a person with a felony can get their gun rights back. This can happen if the felony they were convicted of gets expunged or removed from their record. But that can be pretty hard to do, since you usually have to wait a few years after your conviction and have a completely clean criminal record during that entire time.
The waiting period is there to show the courts that you’ve turned your life around. Most states need you to have at least five years of clean living before they’ll even think about your request to wipe your record. Your record during this time has to stay completely clean because even small mistakes can make you start all over again. Stuff like traffic tickets and civil problems can hurt your application just as much as new criminal charges would.
When you try to get your record erased, there’s plenty of paperwork and legal steps you have to go through. Court fees, the papers you need to get together, and hearing dates make this whole process pretty involved and most people find it tough to work through without help. You’ll probably need to get a lawyer to help you handle these steps.
In some cases, state laws about felony gun ownership can be different from federal laws. What that means is that, even if you get your gun rights restored in your state, you still might not be allowed to own one under federal law. This difference catches plenty of people off guard. It’s worth checking your state’s particular laws about rights restoration if you want to know what options you have.
Federal laws work separately from what your state decides. Background check systems are going to show federal problems even when your state has given you your rights back. This two-part system means that even if you win at the state level, you only get some of your rights back, not all of them. You need to look into federal and state laws before you try to buy any guns.
Do I Need A Lawyer If I Am Charged With Felony In Possession Of A Firearm?
You might need to hire a criminal lawyer in your area if you’re dealing with felony firearm possession laws in your state. These laws are different from one state to another. An experienced local criminal attorney can tell you about your legal rights and options and they’ll be able to represent you in court as you go through each step of the process. If you need legal assistance, LegalMatch can connect you with the right criminal attorney for your case.
Firearm possession charges give you legal problems that change your whole life. If you get convicted of a felony then you’ll usually go to prison, pay big fines, and end up with a permanent criminal record that makes it hard to get jobs, find housing, and professional licenses. When you’re looking at maybe going to prison, there’s nothing that matters more than getting the right help.
You need a lawyer who knows this area of law inside and out. Attorneys who work with firearm cases all of the time understand how prosecutors think and can find these ways to defend you that other lawyers might miss. If they’ve spent time in your local courtrooms, they’ll know how judges and prosecutors like to manage these cases. Every court handles cases a bit differently.
Once charges are filed against you, you need to move fast. While you’re waiting, the police finish up their investigation, prosecutors look through the evidence they’ve grabbed, and witnesses give statements that go on record. The sooner you get an attorney, the more options they’ll have to question how everything was done and protect your rights.
Hiring a lawyer costs money at a time when you’re already stressed out. Public defenders have too many cases and usually can’t give your situation the extra attention it needs. Private attorneys give you the time and resources to look at every way to defend you under state law. The difference in outcomes can be huge.
To find the right attorney, you should look for lawyers who handle firearm cases regularly in your area. It helps when they know the courtroom well because legal procedures, the people they work with, and how judges like to run their courtrooms all change from one court or county to another. This local knowledge matters more than you might think. Many attorneys will meet with you the first time for free to talk about what happened to you and explain how they might defend you. During this meeting, you can see if they’ve handled cases like yours before and choose if their style works. Since you’ll be working with this person for months as your case goes through the courts, you want to make sure it’s someone you’re comfortable with.
