Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

U means unclassified. What is the charge? For instance, a grand larceny may be a U and it means twenty years or less. Class 2 felony has a designated amount of time. Class 2 is very serious.

Virginia has six designated classes of felonies, depending on the penalty range. Class 1 = death penalty or life in prison; Class 2 = 20 years to Life; Class 3 = 5-20 years; Class 4 = 2-10 years; Class 5 = 0-10 years; Class 6 = 0-5 years.

Every other felony that doesn't fit within those categories is considered Unclassified. Some can be very serious - like Rape (5-Life), Robbery (5-Life), Distribution of Cocaine (5-40), 2nd Degree Murder (5-40). Some are not so bad -- like Grand Larceny (theft over $200), which carries 0-20 but in most cases the guidelines call for straight probation.

So if someone is charged with a Class 2 Felony they are looking at 20-Life possibly, and if they are also charged with an Unclassified Felony the possible sentence for that would just depend on the charge.

Hope that helps. You can call me at 703 591 1332 if you want more information.

An unclassified felony is a felony for which the punishment is not part of the penalty structure set out in VA CODE 18.2-10 (classes 1-6). The punishment for an unclassified felony is instead set forth in the particular code section for that particular charge.