Felony = felon = ex-con. And that and 50 cents gets you a bad cup of coffee! Felony classification is arbitrary; e.g., driving while under the influence causing an accident where property damage is over a specified amount or there is personal injury equals a felony in many States. . .even if it is a single car accident and the only person injured is the driver. Now we have the District Attorney who decides how to charge the person. Throw the book at them, and bingo. . .we now have a convicted felon.
Can't vote, can't own a gun, can't go into Canada! The person I speak of is a friend of mine who has been clean and sober for over 20 years. A good husband, a good father, a disabled veteran. Maybe the answer is a new system of classification for anti-social behavior?
Typically, a felony is any "crime" that may (not does) result in one year or more in prison, regardless of the "crime". Remember, a felony is anything that our elected lawmakers say is a crime. To use the ever popular Latin, there is "Malum in se" (evil in fact), and "Malum prohibitum" (bad only because we say it is bad). Malum in se crimes are pretty obvious. . .the really bad acts; i.e., murder, rape, robbery, etc. Now we look at Malum prohibitum crimes, which is anything else your elected officials say is a no-no, and for which these lawmakers feel 1 year in prison is a possible appropriate penalty - ergo, a felony!
Convicted felons lose certain non-crime related rights. Why not all rights? The right to drive, the right to have a job, the right to marry, and the right to pay taxes!
Think about it. How many times have you had to answer the question: "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" Remember that pot bust while in college back in the '60s!
Then we have leadership like Bill Clinton who committed any number of felonies while in office; however, he was never charged nor convicted. Who says justice is blind?!
Plus, with the federal laws and the laws of each State and the District of Columbia we have 52 different and conflicting sets of laws. Often bragging about keeping one's nose clean is merely pure luck, not living in the wrong State, or not getting caught.