Siempre interpreto felony como delito mayor. Single, aquí quiere decir que es solo un cargo. Lo de low level creo que hace referencia a las pautas de imposición de condena que los jueces utilizan.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-06-25 13:42:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here's an example of the sentencing range in a drug case:


The FDLRA does create an important exception to the mandatory Class A-I sentences: if the prosecutor consents, the court would be able to sentence an A-I drug offender with no prior violent felony convictions as a Class B offender. (For reasons that are not clear, offenders convicted of Class A-II would not be eligible for this sentence reduction.) We endorse the apparent objective of avoiding overly harsh sentences for low-level drug offenders convicted of Class A-I felonies. But those intentions should have been pursued through elimination of the mandatory minimums or through a marked lowering of the sentencing range for Class A offenses. If a low sentence is appropriate for a minor offender convicted of a Class A offense, judges should have the power to impose it. As currently drafted, the FDLRA simply maintains the distortion in prosecutorial powers that is one of the principal flaws of the Rockefeller drug laws.

Failing the State: A Critique of the Felony Drug Law Reform Act of ...
Under the FDLRA, therefore, the most lenient sentence an offender trial judge can impose on a low level offender convicted of a Class A-I felony is a ten ...
www.hrw.org/press/2001/07/nygov-crt0712.htm - 25k - Cached - Similar pages



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-06-25 13:44:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

105-130.47. Credit for employing felons.
7 (a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
8 (1) Felon – A high-level, intermediate-level, or low-level felon.
9 (2) Full-time job. – A position that requires at least 1,600 hours of work
10 per year and is intended to be held by one employee during the entire
11 year.
12 (3) High-level felon. – A person who, within the five calendar years
13 preceding the beginning of the taxable year, has been convicted of a
14 Class A through E felony or has been released from incarceration for a
15 Class A through E felony.
16 (4) Intermediate-level felon. – A person who, within the five calendar
17 years preceding the beginning of the taxable year, has been convicted
18 of a Class F or G felony or has been released from incarceration for a
19 Class F or G felony.
20 (5) Low-level felon. – A person who, within the five calendar years
21 preceding the beginning of the taxable year, has been convicted of a
22 Class H or I felony or has been released from incarceration for a Class
23 H or I felony.
PDF]
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2005 H 1 HOUSE BILL 283 ...
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
of a Class F or G felony or has been released from incarceration for a. 18. Class F or G felony. 19. (5). Low-level felon. – A person who, within the five ...
www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2005/Bills/House/PDF/H283v1.p... - Similar pages

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2008-06-25 17:37:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Booking The process of officially recording an arrest. It typically includes (1) photographing the defendant (i.e., taking a “mug shot”); (2) fingerprinting the defendant; and (3) obtaining pedigree information (name, address, date of birth, etc.) from the defendant. Many lower level offenses (e.g., speeding tickets) do not require booking, and in those cases the defendant is simply issued a ticket to appear in court on a future date.

In some States, if an arrest ultimately results in a dismissal of the charges, or if the conviction is for an offense below the level of a crime, or if the defendant is under a certain age as determined by individual State law, the arrest records generated through the booking will be sealed, so the arrest will not result in a criminal record.

Felony A crime generally punishable by more than one year in prison. However, a sentence may include no jail or prison time, depending upon the degree (“seriousness”) of the charge and the defendant’s prior criminal history, if any.
Preliminary Hearing (Felony Hearing) Generally speaking, a defendant who is arrested on a felony charge and held in jail has the right to an impartial testing of the evidence within a certain time frame after arrest. One way to test the evidence is to present the case to the grand jury. In States that do not use the grand jury system, and in rural areas where grand juries sit less frequently, it is more common to test the evidence at a preliminary hearing.

Defendants sometimes agree to waive their right to a preliminary hearing, for a variety of reasons, including a desire to avoid a public airing of the evidence or an agreement with the prosecution to waive the hearing in exchange for disclosure of information about the prosecution’s case.

For lower level felonies, it is very common for defendants to be released on their own recognizance at arraignment, or to have posted bail by the time of the preliminary hearing. This removes the reason for holding the hearing—to test the evidence justifying detention—and so no hearing is held.
Probation A sentence that entails supervision by a probation officer. Probation is possible in cases where the defendant is convicted of a crime that does not mandate incarceration in State prison. Accordingly, probation is a common sentence for defendants convicted of misdemeanors and lower level felonies with little or no criminal history.
Sentencing The imposition of punishment by the judge following a conviction. The range of possible sentences depends on the level of the offense committed. The most serious crimes (e.g., murder, forcible rape, and armed robbery) require sentences of incarceration in State prison. For lesser crimes, alternatives to incarceration (e.g., probation, community service, and fine) are usually permissible.