Felony Defense

In Washington, the most serious criminal offenses are categorized as felony offenses. Persons convicted of a felony offense may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term in excess of one year. In Washington, each felony offense has a statutory maximum penalty and a standard range penalty. There are three classifications of felony offenses:

• Class A felonies – punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment, a fine of $50,000 or both
• Class B felonies – punishable by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $20,000 or both
• Class C felonies – punishable by a maximum of 5 years imprisonment, a fine of $10,000 or both

Examples of Class A felonies include:

• Murder
• Rape in the First Degree
• Arson in the First Degree
• Child Molestation in the First Degree
• Rape of a Child in the First or Second Degree
• Kidnapping in the First Degree

Examples of Class B felonies include:

• Residential Burglary
• Deliver or Possess with Intent to Deliver Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroine, MORE INFORMATION
• Theft of property or services with a value in excess of $1,500
• Theft of a Firearm
• Hit and Run resulting in Death

Examples of Class C felonies include:

• Possession of Methamphetamine, MORE INFORMATION
• Theft of property or services with a value between $750 and $1500
• Theft of Telecommunication Services
• Tampering with a Witness
• Voyeurism
• Forgery

Adult felony sentencing in Washington is governed by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (RCW Chapter 9.94A as amended). In addition to the statutory maximum penalty, each felony in Washington carries a standard range sentence. The standard range sentence of a felony offense depends on the “seriousness level” of the offense and your “offender score”.

Felony offenses in Washington are divided into 16 seriousness levels ranging from low (Level 1) to high (Level 16). RCW 9.94A.515 lists the crimes within each seriousness level. Your “offender score” generally depends on five factors:

1. the number of prior criminal convictions (adult and juvenile)
2. the relationship between any prior offense and the current offense of conviction,
3. the presence of other current convictions,
4. your community custody status (i.e. whether you are on felony probation) at the time the crime was committed, and
5. the length of crime-free behavior between offenses.

Once the offense seriousness level has been determined and the offender score has been calculated, the presumptive standard sentence range may be identified on the appropriate sentencing grid. As a general rule, the standard range increases as your offender score increases (i.e., the higher your offender score, the higher the standard range).

Determining an appropriate offender score and standard range sentence for a felony offense in Washington is a complicated process. A conviction for a felony is likely to result in long-lasting consequences in addition to significant jail time. It is important to contact our attorneys to understand what the potential sentence may be for any felony offense.