Misprision Law and Legal Definition
Misprision is a word used to describe an offense which does not possess a specific name. [United States v. Perlstein, 126 F.2d 789, 798 (3d Cir. 1942)].
There are two kinds of misprision. They are negative and positive misprision. Negative misprision is the concealment of treason or felony. Positive misprision is doing something which ought not to be done.
The term misprision is used to denote:
(1)offenses against the sovereign, government, or courts of justice;
(2)maladministration of public office;
(3)improper performance of public duty; and
(4)failure on the part of a citizen to prevent the commission of a crime.
A clerical misprision is either a mistake or a fraud committed by the clerk of the court, which is susceptible of demonstration by the face of the record. [Commonwealth v. Caudill, 121 Ky. 537, 540-541 (Ky. 1905)]
