Submitted by Knine on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 12:50
What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in Massachusetts? Does it have to do with whether you can go to jail or not if you get convicted or is it some other factor? Thanks.
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Editor's Response
Not really. First of all, let's clear up some terminology. (Or at least try to. As you will read below, all of these rules of thumb are subject to exceptions). Those held in "jail" are usually recently arrested and/or awaiting hearings or trials. Those held in "prison" have been convicted and are serving a sentence.
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 274: Section 1 states: "A crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison is a felony. All other crimes are misdemeanors."
That does not mean, however, that any crime that carries with it the possibility of prison time is a felony. Notice the language in Section 1 about "state prison." In Massachusetts, there are two types of correctional institutions, or "prisons": (1) Houses of Correction, or County Jails, and (2) State Prisons. So, usually, if conviction for the crime may result in incarceration in the State Prison, it is a felony. If conviction may result in incarceration in the House of Correction, it's a misdemeanor.
However, an attorney who used to be a prosecutor gave me this bit of information: "but jail is also where most people convicted from the district court serve their sentence (the defendant is occasionally housed in state prison if he has prior prison time served). I don’t believe a district court judge can sentence a defendant to state prison. Even if a defendant is convicted of a felony, if they are tried in district court they will be sent to the house of correction (jail) and not state prison."
For more information about specific crimes, visit our Massachusetts Criminal Law Discussion Forum.
"May result"
"So, usually, if conviction for the crime may result in incarceration in the State Prison, it is a felony. If conviction may result in incarceration in the House of Correction, it's a misdemeanor."
Should the second sentence read "If conviction may result in incarceration only in the House of Correction, it's a misdemeanor"? Looking at some statutes, and the Master Crime List there are crimes for which the defendant can be sentenced to either House of Corrections or Prison. Are these crimes always felonies or are these crimes considered misdemeanors or felonies based on the sentence? The latter formulation doesn't make sense as the the determination of felony status would be so late in the game.
Is it a felony or a misdemeanor in MA
From a MA district court I was sentenanced to 30 days in a MA county jail for intimidation of a witness (during an argument with my wife I stopped her from using the phone, I did allow her to leave the room TWICE to use the phone down stairs,the crazy dingbat kept comming back to hit ME some more!) so here is what I was told by my attorney:
Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 218 § 27, “[t]he district court may impose the same penalties as the superior court for all crimes of which they have jurisdiction, except that they may not impose a sentence to the state prison.” Therefore, no crime tried in the district court is “punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison,” as required by the M.G.L. c. 274 § 1.
And they also mentioned this:
The disposition of a "intimidation of a witness" charge is not clear. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 268 § 13B, intimidation of a witness is punishable by up to 2 ½ years in the House of Corrections or up to 10 years in the state prison. Therefore, the charge is technically a felony. However, as I explained to you when we first discussed the problems with the intimidation charge, the fact that you were tried in the district court rather than the superior court allows you to make the argument that the intimidation charge is a misdemeanor.
Will this argument hold water?
Felony or misdemeanor
Sorry, but I've never tried a criminal case before. Accordingly, I defer to the judgment of your attorney. His analysis makes sense to me.