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The term felony is used for "very serious" crimes, whereas misdemeanors are considered to be less serious offenses. It is principally used in criminal law in the United States legal system.
The distinction between a felony and misdemeanor has been abolished by some common law jurisdictions (e.g. Crimes Act 1958 (Vic., Australia) s. 332B(1), Crimes Act 1900 (NSW., Australia) s. 580E(1)); other jurisdictions maintain the distinction, notably those of the United States. Those jurisdictions which have abolished the distinction generally adopt some other classification, e.g. in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, the crimes are divided into summary offences and indictable offences.
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