misdemeanor

misdemeanor
Customarily, an indictable offense not amounting to a felony, but sometimes including offenses not punishable by indictment. Commonwealth v Cano, 389 Pa 639, 133 A2d 800, cert den and app dismd 355 US 182, 2 L Ed 2d 186, 78 S Ct 267. The distinction between misdemeanors and felonies now commonly adopted, frequently by statute, is that offenses punishable by death, or by imprisonment in, the state prison or penitentiary, are felonies, whereas all others, including those punishable by imprisonment in the county jail, are misdemeanors. Roberson v United States (CA5 Ala) 249 F2d 737, 72 ALR2d 434, Bert den 356 US 919, 2 L Ed 2d 715, 78 S Ct 704 (under Alabama law); Eckhardt v People, 126 Colo 18, 247 P2d 673. It is also to be observed that in some jurisdictions, there is a classification, particularly in reference to violations of the Motor Vehicle Law, where the breach is deemed, neither a misdemeanor nor a felony, but an "offense."

Ballentine's law dictionary. . 1998.

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  • misdemeanor — mis·de·mean·or /ˌmis di mē nər/ n: a crime that carries a less severe punishment than a felony; specif: a crime punishable by a fine and by a term of imprisonment not to be served in a penitentiary and not to exceed one year compare felony… …   Law dictionary

  • Misdemeanor — Mis de*mean or, n. 1. Ill behavior; evil conduct; fault. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. (Law) A crime less than a felony. Wharton. [1913 Webster] Note: As a rule, in the old English law, offenses capitally punishable were felonies; all other indictable… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • misdemeanor — (n.) also misdemeanour, legal class of indictable offenses, late 15c.; from MIS (Cf. mis ) (1) wrong + M.E. demenure (see DEMEANOR (Cf. demeanor)). Related: Misdemeanors; misdemeanours …   Etymology dictionary

  • misdemeanor — [mis΄də mēn′ər] n. [ MIS 1 + DEMEANOR] 1. Rare the act of misbehaving 2. Law any minor offense, as the breaking of a municipal ordinance, for which statute provides a lesser punishment than for a felony: the penalty is usually a fine or… …   English World dictionary

  • Misdemeanor — For other uses, see Misdemeanor (disambiguation). Criminal law …   Wikipedia

  • misdemeanor — noun Misdemeanor is used before these nouns: ↑assault, ↑charge …   Collocations dictionary

  • misdemeanor — mis|de|mean|or [ ,mısdı minər ] noun count LEGAL a crime that is not as serious as a felony: His wife pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. a. MAINLY LITERARY a minor act of doing wrong …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • misdemeanor — n. to commit a misdemeanor …   Combinatory dictionary

  • misdemeanor — misdeed / misdemeanor [n] sin, crime breach of law, criminality, dirt*, dirty deed*, dirty pool*, fault, infringement, malefaction, misbehavior, misconduct, miscue, offense, peccadillo, slipup, transgression, trespass, villainy, violation, wrong …   New thesaurus

  • misdemeanor — /misdamiynar/ Offenses lower than felonies and generally those punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture or imprisonment otherwise than in penitentiary. Under federal law, and most state laws, any offense other than a felony is classified as a… …   Black's law dictionary

  • misdemeanor — /misdamiynar/ Offenses lower than felonies and generally those punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture or imprisonment otherwise than in penitentiary. Under federal law, and most state laws, any offense other than a felony is classified as a… …   Black's law dictionary

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