What are Criminal Infractions?
When it comes to the world of criminal law, the United States federal government works in conjunction with state legislators to devise a method of classification for each and every type of law that has been broken. By dividing up criminal issues better, and creating a specified scheme by which lawmakers can institute different types of rulings – we are able to create a method y which we punish those who break laws. Without properly dividing the types of crimes and their specific rulings, our legal system (both federal and state governments) would be a complete mess, and it would be chaos trying to give criminals prison sentences, fines, and probationary rulings based on their specific crimes. According to Mr. Steven Veinger, the best criminal lawyer Miami has to offer, some of the most common terms that we know of include things like misdemeanors, felonies and the lesser known category of infractions. While misdemeanors are quite commonly known crimes, infractions are rarely ever discussed – despite ho prominent they might be within our legal system.
An infraction, in many cases known as a petty offense, is a violation of an administrative regulation, an ordinance, a municipal code, and, in some jurisdictions, a state or local traffic rule. In most states an infraction isn’t considered a criminal offense and is rarely punishable by incarceration. Instead, such jurisdictions treat infractions as civil offenses. Even in jurisdictions that treat infractions as criminal offenses, incarceration is not usually contemplated as punishment. But when it is, confinement is limited to serving time in a local jail. In many cases, infractions are considered similar to misdemeanors, as they are defined using very broad language. For instance, according to Mr. Veinger, the best criminal lawyer Miami has to offer, in some states, infractions are defined as offenses “without either designation as a felony or a misdemeanor or specification of the classification or the penalty is a petty offense”.
In reality, despite the fact that you might not have ever even heard the phased used within a legal sentencing, infractions are actually fairly common and chances are that you actually know someone , or have been yourself, cited for some type of infraction – more than likely resulting in some type of a fine or administrative penalty. Common infractions may include:
· Traffic Violations – That may or may not rise to the level of a misdemeanor or felony.
· Littering Violation
· Fishing or Hunting, without a license.
· Construction Violations or building permit violations.
· Running a business without proper licenses.
· Consumption of alcohol in public.
· Walking your dog without a leash.
· Jaywalking and other pedestrian violations.
As you might notice, these are fairly common offenses that you might see on a daily basis, without someone ever even being stopped or ticketed for, as they seem to be fairly petty and, in many cases,, not worth the time of the officer to get involved with. According to Mr. Veinger, the best criminal lawyer Miami has practicing, you might have heard about our legal system trying to decriminalize petty drug offenses of late, and while federal laws have yet to become more lax, there have been almost constant efforts in the past few years to have petty drug crimes be labeled as infractions, as opposed to misdemeanors or felonies. For instance, possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana is considered a civil offense in Maryland, punishable by a fine of up to $100 (but no jail time or other penalties). This type of violation isn’t included in a person’s criminal record in Maryland or other states with similar laws. Many believe such a small-scale issue should be considered merely an infraction, as there are many states that will still issue a felony over something so petty. Especially seeing as how many states have made marijuana possession legal for both medicinal and recreation purposes. For more information on infractions and other petty crimes, or if you have been subject to such a criminal offense, be sure to contact Mr. Steven Veinger today.