Misprision Of A Felony Law and Legal Definition
A misprision of a felony is the concealment of a felony without giving any degree of support to the felony.
To sustain a conviction of misprision of a felony, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
- that the principal had committed and completed the felony alleged;
- that the defendant had full knowledge of that fact;
- that the defendant failed to notify authorities; and
- that the defendant took affirmative steps to conceal the crime of the principal.
The elements of misprision of a felony, both of which must be proved to support conviction, are:
- concealment of something, such as suppression of evidence or some other positive act; and
- failure to disclose.
Failure to disclose, without active concealment, is not a felony.