In the United States, the federal government generally considers a crime punishable with incarceration for one year or less to be a misdemeanor.^[1] All other crimes are considered felonies^{[citation needed]}. Many states also employ this distinction^{[citation needed]}.
A misdemeanor is considered a crime of low seriousness, and a felony one of high seriousness^{[citation needed]}. A principal of the rationale for the degree of punishment meted out is that the punishment should fit the crime.^[2][3][4] One standard for measurement is the degree to which a crime affects others or society. Measurements of the degree of seriousness of a crime have been developed.^[5]
The distinction between felonies and misdemeanors has been abolished by several common law jurisdictions^{[citation needed]} (e.g. Australia^[6]). These jurisdictions have generally adopted some other classification: in the Commonwealth nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, the crimes are divided into summary offences and indictable offences^{[citation needed]}. The Republic of Ireland, a former member of the Commonwealth, also uses these divisions^{[citation needed]}.