See also:

• MISDEMEANOUR (from O. Fr. mes- and demener, to conduct oneself ill)

MISDEMEANOUR (from O. Fr. See also:

• MES

mes- and demener, to conduct oneself See also:

• ILL

ill)  , the generic See also:

• TERM

term used in See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law to include all those offences against the criminal law which are not by See also:

• COMMON

common law or See also:

• STATUTE

statute made See also:

• TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason or See also:

• FELONY (0. Fr. felonie, from felon, a word meaning " wicked," common to Romanic languages, cf. Italian fella, fellone, the ultimate origin of which is obscure, but is possibly connected either with Lat. fel, gall, or fallere, to deceive. The English " fel

felony . In See also:

• RUSSELL (FAMILY)
• RUSSELL, ISRAEL COOK (1852- )
• RUSSELL, JOHN (1745-1806)
• RUSSELL, JOHN (d. 1494)
• RUSSELL, JOHN RUSSELL, 1ST EARL (1792-1878)
• RUSSELL, JOHN SCOTT (1808–1882)
• RUSSELL, LORD WILLIAM (1639–1683)
• RUSSELL, SIR WILLIAM HOWARD
• RUSSELL, THOMAS (1762-1788)
• RUSSELL, WILLIAM CLARK (1844– )

Russell on Crimes it is defined as a See also:

• CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime for which the law has not provided a particular name (6th ed., i . 193) . The term See also:

• MISPRISION (from O. Fr. mesprendre, mod. meprendre, to misunderstand)

misprision, at one See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time applied to the more heinous offences of this class, is now almost obsolete . The term See also:

• MISDEMEANOUR (from O. Fr. mes- and demener, to conduct oneself ill)

misdemeanour includes not only all indict-able offences below the degree of felony, some of them See also:

• GRAVE

grave crimes, such as See also:

• SEDITION (Lat. se or sed, apart, and ire, to go, a going apart, dissension)

sedition, See also:

• RIOT (0. Fr. riote, of uncertain etymology)

riot and See also:

• PERJURY (through the Anglo-Fr. perjurie, modern parjure, Lat. perjurium, a false oath, perjurare, to swear falsely)

perjury, but also the See also:

• PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty misdemeanours, which may be dealt with summarily by justices of the See also:

• PEACE
• PEACE, BREACH OF THE

peace, and the most trifling breaches of See also:

• LOCAL

local by-See also:

• LAWS

laws . As a See also:

• MATTER

matter of legal See also:

• HISTORY

history, many misdemeanours now represent what were originally described as trespasses against the peace, a phrase which is See also:

• EQUIVALENT

equivalent to a " See also:

• TORT (Fr. for wrong, from Lat. tortus, twisted, participle of torquere)

tort " or delict, accompanied by circumstances calling for See also:

• PROSECUTION

prosecution in the See also:

• INTEREST

interest of the See also:

• CROWN

Crown. and the public as well as for See also:

• CIVIL

civil proceedings by the injured parties . Such acts as riot, public See also:

• NUISANCE (through Fr. noisance, nuisance, from Lat. nocere, to hurt)

nuisance, sedition and the different forms of See also:

• LIBEL

libel naturally came to be regarded as wrongs against the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king's peace . Many of the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early statutes anent justices are particularly concerned with the See also:

• PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment of rioters; and some offences now treated as misdemeanours belonged to the spiritual and not to the temporal courts, e.g. perjury . While it is true that almost all crimes which in the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle ages were considered heinous fall into the categories of treason or felony, many statutory misdemeanours differ so little, if at all, 71 from felony in See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character or in the mode of punishment that, in the See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of a See also:

• CODE (Lat. codex)

code, no logical See also:

• LINE

line of See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division can now be See also:

• DRAWN

drawn, inasmuch as few felonies are now See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital and none involve the forfeitures of See also:

• LAND

land or goods, which at one time afforded an appreciable distinction between the two categories of crime . The result is that it is impossible to distinguish without enumerating the specific crimes falling under each See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head . Among the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief misdemeanours are: (1) See also:

• ASSAULT (from Lat. ad, to or on, and saltare, to leap)

Assault on the See also:

• SOVEREIGN

sovereign; (2) unlawful See also:

• ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL

assembly; (3) riot and sedition; (4) forcible entries; (5) perjury, which until 1563 was mainly, if not solely, cognizable by the spiritual courts; (6) See also:

• BLASPHEMY (through the Fr. from Gr. PXaa4o ta, profane language, slander, probably derived from root of )3X

blasphemy; (7) See also:

• EXTORTION (Lat. extorsio, from extorquere, to twist out, to take away by force)

extortion; (8) See also:

• BRIBERY (from the O. Fr. briberie, begging or vagrancy, bribe, Mid. Lat. briba, signifying a piece of bread given to beggars; the Eng. " bribe " has passed through the meanings of alms, blackmail and extortion, to gifts received or given in order to influ

bribery; (9) obtaining See also:

• PROPERTY

property by false pretences (which is nearly cognate to the felony of See also:

• LARCENY (an adaptation of Fr. larcin, O. Fr. larrecin, from Lat. latrocinium, theft, latio, robber)

larceny); (1o) assault; (II) public nuisance; (12) libel; (13) See also:

• CONSPIRACY (from Lat. conspirare, literally to breathe together, to agree, combine, and especially to form a secret plot)

conspiracy to defraud, &c.; (14) attempts to commit other crimes . Numerous acts or omissions are punishable as " misdemeanours by See also:

• INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation." In other words, disobedience to the command or See also:

• PROHIBITION (Lat. prohibere, to prevent)

prohibition of a statute as to a matter of public concern is indictable as .a misdemeanour, even if the statute does not so describe it, unless the terms of the statute indicate that some other remedy alone is to be pursued .

For some misdemeanours penal See also:

• SERVITUDE (Lat. servitus, from service, to serve)

servitude may be imposed by statute . But as a See also:

• RULE

rule the appropriate punishment is by See also:

• FINE

fine or imprisonment without hard labour or both, at the discretion of the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court unless limited by a particular statute . The offender may also be put under See also:

• RECOGNIZANCE (from Lat. recognoscere, to acknowledge)

recognizance to keep the peace and be of See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good behaviour . Theoretically, See also:

• WHIPPING, or FLOGGING

whipping may be imposed; but this is not now done except under specific statutory authority: and the like authority is necessary to authorize the addition of hard labour to a See also:

• SENTENCE (Lat. sententia, a way of thinking, opinion, judgment; vote, sentire, to feel, think)

sentence of imprisonment . At the See also:

• PRESENT

present time the See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical difference in English law between misdemeanour and felony lies in matters of See also:

• PROCEDURE (Fr. procedure, from Lat. procedere, to go for-ward)

procedure, in which a trial for misdemeanour closely resembles an See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary civil trial . r . An See also:

• ARREST (Fr. arrester, arreeter, to stop or stay)

arrest for misdemeanour may not be made without judicial authority except under specific statutory authority . 2 . A See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person charged with misdemeanour is entitled to See also:

• BAIL

bail (see ARREST), i.e. to See also:

• RELEASE (O.Fr. reles, variant of relais, from relaisser, to release, let go, Lat. relaxare)

release on the obtaining of sureties, or even on his own recognizance without sureties to appear and take his trial . Bail is obligatory in all misdemeanours, with the exception of misdemeanours where the See also:

• COSTS

costs of the prosecution are payable out of the See also:

• COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county or See also:

• BOROUGH (A.S. nominative burh, dative byrig, which produces some of the place-names ending in bury, a sheltered or fortified place, the camp of refuge of a tribe, the stronghold of a chieftain; cf. Ger. Burg, Fr. bor, bore, bourg)
• BOROUGH [BURROUGH, BURROWE, BORROWS], STEVEN (1525–1584)

borough See also:

• RATE

rate or fund . 3 . A misdemeanour may be tried on an See also:

• INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information filed by the See also:

• ATTORNEY (from O. Fr. atorne, a person appointed to act for another, from atourner, legal Lat. attornare, attorn, literally to turn over to another or commit business to another)

attorney-See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general or by leave of the high court without the See also:

• INDICTMENT (from Anglo-Fr. enditernent, enditer, to charge; Lat. in, against, dictare, declare)

indictment essential in cases of treason and felony .

4 . The same indictment or information may include a number of charges of misdemeanour committed at different times and even against different persons . See INDICTMENT . 5 . A trial for misdemeanour may proceed in the absence of the See also:

• DEFENDANT

defendant, who is not " given in See also:

• CHARGE
• CHARGE (through the Fr. from the Late Lat. carricare, to load in a carrus or wagon; cf. " cargo ")

charge " to the See also:

• JURY

jury, as in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of felony . 6 . On a charge of misdemeanour a trial by See also:

• SPECIAL

special jury may be ordered . 7 . There is no right to See also:

• CHALLENGE (O. Fr. chalonge, calenge, &c., from Lat. calumnia, originally meaning trickery, from calvi, to deceive, hence a false accusation, a " calumny ")

challenge peremptorily any of the jurors summoned to try the case; any challenge made must be for cause . The jury is sworn collectively (four men to a See also:

• BOOK

book), and not See also:

• POLL

poll by poll as in felony, and their See also:

• OATH (0. Eng. ddh)

oath is to try the issues joined between the king and the defendant . They may See also:

• SEPARATE

separate during adjournments of the trial, like a jury in a civil case . 8 .

The costs of prosecuting certain misdemeanours are recoverable out of public funds under specific statutory provisions; but in very few cases can the court make the misdemeanant himself pay them . 9 . There are no accessories after the fact to misdemeanour .