Felony | Criminal Defense

Felony in Nebraska

A felony is a serious level of criminal charge and/or conviction comparing to misdemeanors under the Nebraska Criminal Code. If you have been charged with a felony by the state of Nebraska, you should consult with an attorney as your liberty and/or financials may be in jeopardy. A felony conviction may become a permanent criminal record on your background check. It may later on implicate your choices of employment, residence, voting rights, and other rights and privileges.

If you are unsure about whether you are facing a misdemeanor charge or a felony charge, you should consult with your lawyer. Normally, in the Complaint or the ticket, there is a citation of alleged Nebraska law or city ordinance violation. The citied statue normally will state whether it is a misdemeanor or felony. In state courts, felony charges are filed at county court level and usually bind over to the district court depending on the outcomes of preliminary hearing. Federal felony charges are different from state felony charges. Sometimes there are overlaps. A person may be convicted of same crimes under the state charge and under the federal charge in Nebraska. A person may be convicted of same crimes under the state charge and under the federal law separately.

Different Stages of Criminal Prosecution in Felony Cases

There are different states in the criminal prosecution in felony cases in Nebraska. Each stage is important and can carry significant consequences in the outcome of your criminal defense. The initial stage is the investigation conducted by the law enforcement. You may get a call, a voice message, or a knock on the door from the law enforcement asking if you are willing to answer some questions voluntarily to help with the investigation. Or you may be arrested without a warrant. Generally speaking, Nebraska law 29-404 allows a police officer to conduct an arrest without a warrant if the law officer has reasonable cause to believe: (1) you have committed a felony, (2) or a misdemeanor and the officer has reasonable cause to believe that you either (a) will evade an arrest in the future, (b) may cause injury or damages to yourself, others, or properties unless you are immediately arrested, (c) you may destroy or hide evidence , or (d) you committed a misdemeanor in the presence of the police officer.

Often times in domestic violence cases, office may also conduct warrantless arrests, if the officer knows that (1) one of the household members or domestic partners knowingly and intentionally attempted to cause bodily harm to another member or partner, (2) by physical menace placing another member in fear of imminent bodily harm, or (3) engage in sexual contact without consent.

Furthermore, you may be arrested with a warrant signed by a judge. The arrest warrants are issued by judges. Judges, before signing an arrest warrant, generally reviews a sworn testimony affidavit made police officers. Judges will determine whether there is a probable cause of you committed the crime. These affidavits in support your arrest warrant will become viewable by you or your attorney once a criminal complaint been filed against you, unless the judge seals these records for good reasons.

Bond Hearing
Preliminary Hearing
District Court Arraignment
Pretrial Hearings & Motions
Trial
Post-trial hearings and motions
Sentencing & Sentencing Investigation

Again, each stage of your criminal defense can be critical. Our firm has experience in dealing with each stage of the criminal defense ad is dedicated to achieve our client’s goals. No matter what stage you are in, you can contact us and schedule a consultation.

Class of Felony Possible Penalty

Class I felony Death
Class IA felony Life imprisonment
Class IB felony Maximum—life imprisonment

Minimum—20 years imprisonment

Class IC felony Maximum—50 years imprisonment

Mandatory minimum—5 years imprisonment

Class ID felony Maximum—50 years imprisonment

Mandatory minimum—3 years imprisonment

Class II felony Maximum—50 years imprisonment Minimum—1 year imprisonment
Class IIA felony Maximum—20 years imprisonment Minimum—none

Class III felony Maximum—4 years imprisonment and two years post-release supervision or $25,000 dollars fine, or both

Minimum—none for imprisonment and 9 months post-release supervision if imprisonment is imposed

Class IIIA felony Maximum—3 years imprisonment and 18 months post-release supervision or $10,000 dollars fine, or both

Minimum—none for imprisonment and 9 months post-release supervision if imprisonment is imposed

Class IV felony Maximum—2 years imprisonment and 12 months post-release supervision or $10,000 dollars fine, or both

Minimum—none for imprisonment and none for post-release supervision

If you are convicted of a felony for which mandatory minimum sentence is ordered shall not be eligible for probation.

Why Am I Facing Felony Charge?

A felony charge is filed by the local prosecutor’s office based on the information provided by the local law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agencies investigate alleged crimes. If the law enforcement finds there is probable cause, believing there is a reasonable basis that a crime may have been committed based the known evidence, they may request a warrant for your arrest or search of your properties. In some cases, you may not be arrested for a variety of reasons. There is not enough evidence to arrest you. You have deep ties to the local community and does not pose a threat or danger to the society.

The local prosecutor’s office will review the evidence gather by the law enforcement and file a complaint with the local county court. In the complaint, there may be misdemeanor charges and felony charges. If you are facing both type of charges, you will likely have a preliminary hearing in the local county court presided by a county court judge. Sometimes, criminal defense attorneys waive the preliminary hearing in return they may get early access to the discovery materials, or the police’s evidence, from the prosecutor’s office. Felony charges may be dropped and amended in some stages of the prosecution. When that occurs, you need to make sure your due process rights have not been violated by the judge or the prosecutor.

What Is The Purpose Of Preliminary Hearing In Felony?

If you have a preliminary hearing, the presiding county court judge is to determine, based on the known evidence, whether it appears that (1) a crime has been committed, and (2) whether there is probably cause to believe that you committed the offense. If the judge determines that based on the presented evidence during the preliminary hearing, no offense was committed, your charge would be dismissed. Likewise, if the judge determines that, there is not enough evidence to reasonably believe that

What Ways Can A Felony Conviction Impact You?

Depends on the type of convictions you may have, your rights and privileges maybe impacted. For instance, Nebraska statue 32-313(1) says no one who has been convicted of a felony under the Nebraska law and other state’s laws is disqualified from voting until 2 years after the sentence is completed, including any parole term. After your sentence is completed plus any period of probation, you may receive a notice from the Department of Corrections, parole officer, or a judge telling you that your sentence has been completed. After you received this notice, you can submit a new voter registration application to the county election office. A felony can also show up in your criminal background record. Employers, landlords, credit & financial institutions may check your background for employment, rental property, and banking purposes.

If you have a question about your criminal defense, call us at 402-391-2486 and schedule an appointment. If your family or friend has an emergency after hours or on the weekend, call us and leave a voice message, we will get back to you as early as possible. Li Law Group is a law firm in Omaha, Nebraska. Our attorneys have successfully defended many clients with criminal charges. We are attentive to hear our clients and understand their goals. We develop and prepare our cases to achieve our clients' needs and wants. Through trust, talent, efforts, and teamwork, we zealously represent our clients. If you have need a criminal defense lawyer, call us at 402.391.2486. Our office is located at 8424 West Center Road Ste 108, Omaha, Nebraska. Fill out an intake at here.