In common law legal systems, a felony is a very serious crime, often contraste with a misdemeanor. In the U.S. legal system, this distinction is principally used in criminal law, wherein the Federal government considers a misdemeanor crime punishable with five-days-to-a-year in jail, and a felony crime as minimally punishable with a year in prison; infractions, lesser crimes, are punishable with five-days-or-less jail time, or no jail time.