What is the difference between a "state jail felony" & a regular felony?

Answer 1

What state are you speaking about? The answer varies with each state.

For the most part, most states list the sanctions for misdemeanors as 12 months in jail or less. Sanctions for felonies are 1 year in jail or greater. (Time served is calculated differently between years and months.) "Jail Felony" time is generally where the judge gives between 1 to 3 years and all but 6 months is suspended. Thus, they spend their felony time in jail and are not transferred to prison. (Jail is designed for short term stays, prison is designed for long term stays and is often what you see on the TV programs all the time.)

Answer 2

Generally, any crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year is a felony; however, some states do not follow this general rule.

State Jail Felony - To save money and reduce overcrowding in the state prison system, the Texas Legislature in 1993 reformed sentencing laws to create a class of non-violent, non-sex offender crimes called state jail felonies and a new type of cheaper-to-operate minimum security prison facility to house those sentenced to state jail time. The offenders diverted from Texas prisons by these changes include low level drug offenders (like those convicted of possession of under one gram of cocaine) and property offenders (like those convicted of burglary of a building). Most of those convicted of a state jail felony serve probated sentences but judges have the discretion to sentence offenders to serve up to two years in a state jail.