(a) An offense defined by this Code or by any other statute of Guam, for which a sentence of imprisonment is authorized, constitutes a crime. Crimes are classified as felonies, misdemeanors or petty misdemeanors. (b) A crime is a felony if it is so designated in this Code or if persons convicted thereof may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term which, apart from an extended term, is in excess of one year. (c) A crime is a misdemeanor if it is so designated in this Code or in a statute other than this Code enacted subsequent thereto. (d) Any offense declared by law to constitute a crime, without specification of the grade thereof or of the sentence authorized upon conviction, is a misdemeanor. (e) A crime is a petty misdemeanor if it is so designated in this Code or in a statute other than this Code enacted subsequent thereto or if it is defined by a statute other than this Code which now provides that person convicted thereof may be sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum term of less than one year. (f) An offense defined by this Code or by any other statute of Guam constitutes a violation if it is so designated in this Code or in the law defining the offense or if no other sentence than a fine, or fine and forfeiture or other civil penalty is authorized upon conviction. A violation does not constitute a crime and conviction of a violation shall not give rise to any disability or legal disadvantage based on conviction of a criminal offense. (g) An offense defined by any statute of Guam other than this Code shall be classified as provided in this Section and the sentence that may be imposed upon conviction thereof shall hereafter be governed by this Code. SOURCE: Guam PC., §§ 15-17, 177; M.P.C. § 1.04; Cal. §§ 200-203 (T.D. 2, 1968); Cal. §§ 300-304 (1971); Mass. ch. 263, § 4; N.J. § 2c:1-4. CROSS-REFERENCES: See Index for listing of Crimes and their classification. Section 1.19. COMMENT: Section 1.18 supersedes former §§ 15-17 of the Guam PC. It is based upon the Model Penal Code, § 1.04. However, its basic policy is reflected in recent recommendations by commissions in California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. This Section, by itself, makes little significant change, but lays that groundwork for important changes elsewhere in this Code. An additional classification of “Violation” is defined, a classification which does not exist under the present Penal Code. The major purpose of this Section and § 1.19 is to classify the various types of unlawful conduct by degree, giving a wider range of possibilities than exists under the Penal Code. “Offenses” are divided into “crimes” and “violations,” the latter being differentiated by the lack of imprisonment as a punishment and the lack of any civil disability attaching to its conviction. Inclusion of a “petty misdemeanor” reflects a differentiation between the many types of crimes which were scattered throughout the Codes of Guam for which many individual sentences were assigned, but all of which were misdemeanors.
This Section also makes clear the manner in which offenses stated in other laws are to be classified. 2024 NOTE: Reference to “this Territory” replaced with “Guam” pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.