Misdemeanour

A misdemeanor, or a misdemeanour, is a "lesser" criminal act. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies. Many misdemeanors are punished with fines. A misdemeanor is considered a crime of low seriousness, and a felony one of high seriousness.One standard for measurement is the degree to which a crime affects others or society. The distinction between felonies and misdemeanors has been abolished by several other common lawjurisdictions. Those jurisdictions have generally endorsed some other classification: in the Commonwealth nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, the crimes are divided into summary offenses and indictable offenses.