# Legal definitions for Maryland
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-definitions-for-maryland/517179
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 11, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-definitions-for-maryland/517179 "2009-11-11T14:21:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-definitions-for-maryland/517179/1 "2009-11-11T14:21:56Z")
Hi,
I’m not an attorney, nor am I in the legal profession, but I need help with some definitions. Where can I find the legal definitions for felony and misdemeanor specifically for the state of Maryland? I’m trying to do this online, but I’ve not been successful yet. Any help is appreciated.
(And to the comics in the SDMB audience, I’m not in trouble. I didn’t add _need to know right away_ to the title!)
Thanks!
–SMM
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### Author:  [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-definitions-for-maryland/517179/2 "2009-11-11T14:57:18Z")
This attorney, who’s in the bar for Maryland and DC (and probably Virginia) says a felony is usually defined as something that carries a jail term of a year or more: [http://www.andrewalpert.com/criminal-defense-felony.html](http://www.andrewalpert.com/criminal-defense-felony.html)
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### Author:  [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-definitions-for-maryland/517179/3 "2009-11-11T16:15:44Z")
> [@bup](#):
>
> This attorney, who’s in the bar for Maryland and DC (and probably Virginia) says a felony is usually defined as something that carries a jail term of a year or more: [http://www.andrewalpert.com/criminal-defense-felony.html](http://www.andrewalpert.com/criminal-defense-felony.html)
That’s a pretty good rule of thumb, but the definition may vary depending on what you are defining these terms for.
In D.C., “Largely for historical reasons, the courts in this jurisdiction generally define ‘felony’ as any offense for which the maximum penalty provided for the offense is imprisonment for more than one year; generally, all other crimes are misdemeanors.”, _Henson v. United States_, 399 A.2d 16, 20 (D.C. 1979). A few Maryland cases cite this case with approval, but always in the context of determining whether a D.C. conviction was a felony or a misdemeanor. I didn’t find a similar line of cases for Maryland, and Maryland seems to have a bunch of midemeanors that have maximum penalties of more than a year. See, e.g., Md. Public Safety Code Ann. § 5-101(g):
> [@](#):
>
> (g) Disqualifying crime.- “Disqualifying crime” means:
>
> (1) a crime of violence;
>
> (2) a violation classified as a felony in the State; or
>
> (3) a violation classified as a misdemeanor in the State that carries a statutory penalty of more than 2 years.
[http://www.michie.com/maryland/lpext.dll/mdcode/1c500/1c88a/1c88c/1c88d?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&2.0#JD\_ps5-101](http://www.michie.com/maryland/lpext.dll/mdcode/1c500/1c88a/1c88c/1c88d?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&2.0#JD_ps5-101)
and _Brown v. Handgun Permit Review Board_, 2009 Md. App. LEXIS 166 (Md. Ct. Spec. App.)