Misdemeanor

A term used to express every offence inferior to felony, punishable by Indictment, or by particular prescribed proceedings. In its usual acceptation, it is applied to all those crimes and offences for which the law has not provided a particular name. It has a common-law, a parliamentary, and a.popular sense. In a parliamentary sense, as applied to officers, it means maladministration or misconduct, not necessarily indictable. Demeanor is conduct, and misdemeanor is misconduct, in the business of one’s office. It most be in matters of importance, and be of a character to show a wilful disregard of duty; 6 Amer. Law Reg. (N. S.) 649; State v. Hastings, 37 Neb. 96, 56 N. W. 774. The test whether or not a certain crime in the books, bnt whether It injuriously affects the public policy and economy; Com. V. Mc Hale, 97 Pa. 897, 39 Am. Rep. 808, followed in Com. V. Randolph, 146 Pa. 83, 23 Atl. 388, 28 Am. St. Rep. 782, where it Was held that a solicitation to commit murder meets this test. The word is generally used in contradistinction to felony; misdemeanors comprehending all indictable offences which do not amount to felony, as perjury, battery, libels, conspiracies, and public nuisances, but not including a multitude of offences over which ma^strates have an exclusive summary Jurisdiction, for a brief designation of which our legal nomenclature is at fault. Misdemeanors have sometimes been called m^prlslons.

See 1 Blsl Vi Cr. L. § 624.

See Felony; Crime; Meroeh. Military law makes no distinction between felony and misdemeanor.