Everything about Misdemeanor totally explained
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 (also known as
regulatory offenses). Many misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines. Usually only repeat misdemeanor offenders are punished by actual jail time.
In the United States, the federal government generally considers a crime punishable by a year or less in prison to be a misdemeanor. All other crimes are felonies. Many states also follow this.
The distinction between a felony and misdemeanor has been abolished by most other
common law jurisdictions (for example
Crimes Act 1958 (Vic., Australia) s. 332B(1)
,
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW., Australia) s. 580E(1)). Those jurisdictions have generally adopted some other classification, for example in
Canada,
Australia, the
Republic of Ireland and the
United Kingdom the crimes are divided into
summary offences and
indictable offences.
In some jurisdictions, those who are
convicted of a misdemeanor 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,
public intoxication,
simple assault,
disorderly conduct,
trespass,
vandalism, and other similar crimes. In the United States, misdemeanors are crimes with a maximum punishment of 12 months 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.
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 usually don't result in the loss of civil rights, but may result in loss of privileges, such as professional licenses, public offices, or public employment. Such effects are known as the
collateral consequences of criminal charges. 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 judgment of Congress.
Within classes of offenses, 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. When a statute doesn't specify the class, it's referred to as an unclassified misdemeanor. Sometimes this is done when legislators wish to impose a penalty that falls outside the framework specified in the classes. For instance,
Virginia has four classes of misdemeanors, with Class 1 and Class 2 misdemeanors being punishable by twelve-month and six-month jail sentences, respectively, and Class 3 and Class 4 misdemeanors being non-jail offenses payable by fines; but first-time
marijuana possession is an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by serving up to 30 days in jail.
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