What is a felony?
A felony is a crime punishable by a state prison (as opposed to county jail) sentence. Felonies run the range from petty theft with a prior and possession of small quantities of drugs through kidnapping, rape, robbery, and murder. Any new felony, regardless of how minor, may be punished under the 3-Strikes law if the defendant has one or more “serious” or “violent” felony priors.