Whatever the charges, after an arrest it’s time to take some sensible steps in your defense. The first question to ask your lawyer is, how serious are the charges you face? In Utah and most other states, the basic difference between a misdemeanor and a felony is the penalty. Penalties tend to track with the seriousness of the crime. Misdemeanors and felonies are categorized — a felony is more severe than a misdemeanor, while a Class A misdemeanor is more serious than a Class C misdemeanor like public intoxication.

Types of misdemeanors include:

• Class A: Theft, assault of a police officer and negligent homicide
• Class B: Driving impaired, possession of marijuana under one ounce and some traffic offenses
• Class C: Lack of valid license, or driving on a suspended license

Types of felonies include:

• Capital offense: Aggravated murder
• First degree: Murder, rape, possession to distribute near a school and aggravated arson
• Second degree: Residential burglary, forcible sexual abuse and car theft
• Third degree: Non-residential burglary, some types of forgery and theft and possession of controlled substances

Both misdemeanors and felonies result in incarceration. A misdemeanor conviction is served in jail. A felony time is served in either jail or prison.

While misdemeanors are lesser crimes, conviction guarantees a criminal record that may mean lost educational, employment, social and volunteer opportunities far into your future. Whether misdemeanor or felony, the more serious the crime, the more impact it has on your life. An experienced criminal defense attorney can help minimize that impact.

But avoiding deadly medieval-style booby traps is usually not on the agenda. An alert military-trained Forest Ranger officer who was patrolling the area noticed some trip wires and disabled two dangerous booby traps on the Big Springs Trailhead last spring before anyone got hurt.

One device consisted of a 20-pound cluster of sharpened sticks that could have hit an unsuspecting hiker in the face. The other trip wire could have sent someone sprawling onto sharpened sticks set into the ground. Shortly after the discovery, law enforcement officers arrested Benjamin Rutkowski, age 19, and Kai Christensen, 21, who confessed to installing the devices.

The young men were initially charged with third-degree felony assault, but later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment. They denied that the traps were designed to injure any hikers. The lawyer representing Rutkowski described the incident as, “Just a couple of boys fooling around.”

Rutkowski was sentenced to 20 days in jail, a $760 fine, and probation for a year. Christensen received 30 days in jail, a $793 fine, and 18 months’ probation. It is not clear why the two men received different penalties. However, third-degree felony assault charges could have resulted in five-year prison sentences and $5,000 fines.