Misdemeanor
From Open Encyclopedia
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| Part of the common law series |
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A misdemeanor (or misdemeanour), in many common law legal systems, is a "lesser" criminal act. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than felonies; but theoretically more so than administrative infractions.
In some jurisdictions, those who are convicted of a misdeameanor are known as misdemeanants (as contrasted with those convicted of a felony who are known as felons). Depending on the jurisdiction, examples of misdemeanors may include: petty theft, prostitution, simple assault, trespass, vandalism, and other similar crimes. In general, misdemeanors are crimes with a maximum punishment of 12 months or less of incarceration, typically in a local jail (again, as contrasted with felons, who are typically incarcerated in a prison). Those people who are convicted of misdemeanors are often punished with probation, community service or part-time imprisonment, served on the weekends.
In Anglo-American law misdemeanors are in the middle range of seriousness for violations of the law. Felonies are the most serious and typically result in automatic forfeit of some civil rights, including suffrage, and commonly involve lengthy incarceration. Typically, only those charged with felonies are entitled to the right of trial by jury. Infractions are the least serious, are punishable only by fine (and a command to reverse the behavior), and never carry a formal social stigma (examples of violations include parking and minor traffic offences, late payment of fees, and building code violations).
Misdemeanors never result in the loss of civil rights, but may result in loss of privileges, such as professional licences, public offices, or public employment. This is more common when the misdemeanor is related to the privilege in question (such as the loss of a taxi driver's license after a conviction for reckless driving), or when the misdemeanor involves moral turpitude -- and in general is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. One prominent example of this is found in the United States Constitution, which provides that the President may be impeached by Congress for "high crimes and misdemeanors" and removed from office accordingly. The definition of a "high" misdemeanor is left to the judgement of Congress.
Within classes of offences, the form of punishment can vary widely. For example, the US federal government and many U.S. states divide misdemeanors into several classes, with certain classes punishable by jail time and others carrying only a fine.
