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                                                  MAJOR FELONIES

 

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     The term "Major Felonies" refers to felony offenses in the Penal Code that carry the most serious sentences if the defendant is convicted. Major Felonies include murder, manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon or with force likely to produce great bodily injury, robbery, car jacking, arson, kidnaping, child abduction, rape, sexual assault, child molestation, possessing, producing, or distributing child pornography, human trafficking, elder abuse and hate crimes.  The penalty for a Major Felony increases if the defendant has a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony that qualifies as a "strike." Convictions for sex offenses like rape, sexual assault, child molestation, possessing, producing or distributing child pornography, and some misdemeanors also require that a defendant register as a sex offender for 10 years, 20 years or for life, depending on what "tier" the offense has been assigned by the registration statute in the Penal Code. Anyone identified by law enforcement during a criminal investigation as a "person of interest" or charged with committing a Major Felony needs a criminal lawyer with extensive experience in e defense of these types of cases.