Criminal misdemeanor consists of a low seriousness criminal offense, considered a "minor offence". Misdemeanors are less serious than crimes, and they may vary according to the legislation and context of a particular society to which they apply.
The penalty for a criminal misdemeanor varies between the simple imprisonment and/or payment of a fine. However, for the offense to be considered a misdemeanor, it must not present, from the perspective of Criminal Law, a relevant threat
In Brazilian law, the rules on criminal misdemeanors are provided for in Law No. 3688, of October 3, 1941, known as the Criminal Misdemeanor Law.
Learn more about the meaning of Criminal Code.
Crime and misdemeanor
They consist of two different kinds of criminal offences, the crimes being considered more serious, while misdemeanors are limited to so-called "dwarf crimes" or "tramp crimes". The main difference between them is in the type of criminal action.
The crimes admit as a penalty the imprisonment or detention, on the other hand, criminal misdemeanors have as main penalties the
simple imprisonment and/or payment of fines.In the case of simple prison, according to article 6 of the Criminal Misdemeanor Law, it must be in a semi-open or open regime (never in a closed regime), without the rigors of the penitentiary. Prisoners sentenced to simple imprisonment should never be mixed with those sentenced to imprisonment or detention, for example.
According to the evolution of society, offenses that in the past were considered criminal misdemeanors can turn into crimes. In Brazil, for example, with the Disarmament Statute (in 2003), the illegal possession of firearms changed from a misdemeanor to a crime.
The time limit of the sentence is also quite different between criminal offenses and misdemeanors. In the first case, imprisonment can reach 30 years, while in the second, it does not go beyond 5 years.
See also the meaning of Imputability.
| Crime | Contravention |
| Imprisonment and detention (+ fine in some cases) | simple prison and fine |
| public and private action | Unconditional Public Action |
| attempt punished | attempt is not punished |
| Allows extraterritoriality | Does not admit extraterritoriality |
| State and Federal | State |
| 30 years (maximum sentence) | 5 years (maximum sentence) |
| 2 to 4 year survivors rule | Sursi 1 to 3 years rule |
| Closed, semi-open, open | Semi-open or open |