Misprision (from O. Fr. mesprendre, mod. meprendre, to misunderstand), an obsolete term in English law, used to describe certain kinds of offence. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Writers on criminal law usually divide misprision into two kinds, negative or positive.

In the term misprision of felony, it survived in England and Wales until 1967. Misprision of felony was an offence under the Common law of England and was classified as a Misdemeanour.

Also, a term in use in literary theory and criticism, brought into currency by Harold Bloom to designate a strong writer's creative misreading or distortion of a previous thesis or argument. The word theory has many distinct meanings in different fields of Knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. The word critic comes from the Greek el κριτικός ( el-Latn kritikós) "able to discern" which in turn derives from the word Harold Bloom' (born July 11, 1930) is a Literary critic. Bloom defended 19th-century Romantic poets at a time when their reputations In many cases, so strong that the original thesis is forgotten.

Negative misprision

Negative misprision is the concealment of treason or felony. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor. By the common law of England it was the duty of every liege subject to inform the king's justices and other officers of the law of all treasons and felonies of which the informant had knowledge, and to bring the offender to justice by arrest (see Sheriffs Act 1887, s. 8). The duty fell and still falls primarily on the grand jurors of each county borough or franchise, and is performed by indictment or presentment, but it also falls in theory on all other inhabitants (see Pollock and Maitland, Hist. Eng. Law, ii. 505). Failure by the latter to discharge this public duty constitutes what is known as misprision of treason or felony (see 3 Co. Inst. , 139).

Misprision of Treason, in the words of Blackstone, " consists in the bare knowledge and concealment of treason, without any degree of assent thereto, for any assent makes the party a principal traitor. " According to Bracton, de Corond, 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 procedure on trials for treason also apply to misprision of treason. The punishment is loss of the profit of the lands of the offender during life, forfeiture of all his goods and imprisonment for life. These punishments are not affected by the Forfeiture Act 1870.

Misprision of felony is the concealment of a felony committed by another person, but without such previous concert with, or subsequent assistance of the offender, as would make the concealer an accessory before or after the fact. Misprision of felony was an offence under the Common law of England and was classified as a Misdemeanour. The offence is a misdemeanour punishable on indictment by fine and imprisonment.

Positive misprision

Positive misprision is the doing of something which ought not to be done; or the commission of a serious offence falling short of treason or felony, in other words of a misdemeanour of a public character (e. g. maladministration of high officials, contempt of the sovereign or magistrates, &c. ). To endeavour to dissuade a witness from giving evidence, to disclose an examination before the privy council, or to advise a prisoner to stand mute, used to be described as misprisions (Hawk. P. C. bk. I. c. 20).

The old writers say that a misprision is contained in every felony and that the 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 present value in the law. Positive misprisions are now only of antiquarian interest, being treated as misdemeanours.

In the United States, misprision of treason is defined to be the crime committed by a person owing 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 president or to some judge of the United States, or to the governor, or to some judge or justice of a particular state. Misprision of treason is an offence found in many Common law jurisdictions around the world having been inherited from English law The punishment is imprisonment for not more than seven years and a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

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