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Corona, seq. 118, failure to reveal the treason of another was in itself high treason, but statutes of 1551–1552 and 1554–1555 made concealment of treason misprision only. Most of the statutes regulating See also:

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

procedure on trials for treason also apply to misprision of treason. The See also:

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

punishment is loss of the profit of the lands of the offender during See also:

LIFE

life, See also:

FORFEITURE (from " forfeit," originally an offence, and hence a fine exacted as a penalty for such; derived through the O. Fr. forfeit, from the late Lat. foris factum, a trespass, that which is done foris, outside)

forfeiture of all his goods and imprisonment for life. These punishments are not affected by the Forfeiture Act 187o. Misprision of Felony is the concealment of a felony committed by another See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person, but without such previous See also:

CONCERT (through the French from Lat. con-, with, and certare, to strive)

concert with, or subsequent assistance of the offender, as would make the concealer an See also:

ACCESSORY

accessory before or after the fact. The offence is a See also:

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

misdemeanour punishable on indictment by See also:

FINE

fine and imprisonment. (b) Positive misprision is the doing of something which ought not to be done; or the See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission of a serious offence falling See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short of treason or felony, in other words of a misdemeanour of a public See also:

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

character (e.g. maladministration of high officials, See also:

con-tempt of the See also:

SOVEREIGN

sovereign or magistrates, &c.). To endeavour to dissuade a See also:

witness from giving See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence, to disclose an examination before the privy See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council, or to advise a prisoner to stand See also:

MUTE (Lat. tnutus, dumb)

mute, used to be described as misprisions (See also:

HAWK (O. Eng. hafoc or heafoc, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch havik, Ger. Habicht; the root is hab-, haf-, to hold, cf. Lat. accipiter, from capere)

Hawk. P. C. bk. I. c.

20). The old writers say that a misprision is contained in every felony and that the See also:

CROWN

Crown may elect to prosecute for the misprision instead of the felony. This proposition merely affirms the right of the Crown to choose a more merciful remedy in certain cases, and has no See also:

PRESENT

present value in the law. Positive misprisions are now only of antiquarian See also:

INTEREST

interest, being treated as misdemeanours. In the See also:

UNITED

United States, misprision of treason is defined to be the See also:

CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime committed by.a person owing See also:

ALLEGIANCE (Mid. Eng. ligeaunce; med. Lat. ligeantia, &c.; the al- was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an allegation; the Fr. allegeance comes from the English; the word is formed from " liege," of which the derivatio

allegiance to the United States, and having knowledge of the commission of any crime against them, who conceals and does not, as soon as may be, disclose and make known the same to the See also:

PRESIDENT (Fr. president, from Lat. praesidens, post-Augustan Lat. for praeses, director, ruler, from praesidere, to sit in front of, preside)

president or to some See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge of the United States, or to the See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor, or to some judge or justice of a particular See also:

state. The punishment is imprisonment for not more than seven years and a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

End of Article: MISPRISION (from O. Fr. mesprendre, mod. meprendre, to misunderstand)

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