What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?
Whitney S. Boan Protecting Your Right
Video Transcript
When you’re talking about a felony offence, you’re talking about an offence where someone in theory could be punished somewhere of more than a year and a day in jail or in prison if they’re convicted of the charge. The lowest level of felony that we have for state offences in Florida is a third degree felony. The maximum punishment for that charge is five years in prison. There’s second degree felonies and first degree felonies, and the punishments vary depending on what type of felony it is. When we’re talking about a misdemeanor, the maximum punishment is a year in jail or even less if it’s a lesser degree of a misdemeanor.