Misdemeanor

• Author: Charles H. Whitebread
• Pages: 1745

Page 1745

A misdemeanor is one of a class of offenses considered less heinous, and punished less severely, than FELONIES. Generally, misdemeanors are punishable by fine or by incarceration in facilities other than penitentiaries for terms of up to one year. Federal law and most state statutes classify all crimes other than felonies as misdemeanors. Two standards have traditionally been used to distinguish felonies from misdemeanors: the place of imprisonment (a penitentiary as opposed to a jail); and the length of imprisonment (more than one year for felonies, a lesser term for misdemeanors).

The Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants charged with misdemeanors are entitled to certain guarantees of the BILL OF RIGHTS. In ARGERSINGER V. HAMLIN (1972), an indigent defendant was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor offense, and sentenced to ninety days in jail. An attorney was not appointed to represent the defendant even though he did not waive this right. The Supreme Court ruled that the RIGHT TO COUNSEL was applicable to misdemeanors where the defendant received a jail term. In Scott v. Illinois (1979), however, the Supreme Court declined to find a right to counsel at trial where loss of liberty is merely a possibility and does not, in fact, occur.

The Supreme Court also held, in BALDWIN V. NEW YORK (1970), that the Sixth Amendment requires that defendants accused of serious crimes be...