Understanding Misdemeanor Laws and How Records are Created

Misdemeanors are crimes which are punished only with fines or that carry jail sentences of less than 12 months. In most instances, someone charged with a misdemeanor is released immediately if they are arrested, or not even arrested at all. For very minor misdemeanor traffic crimes, the person who has been issued a citation may not even need to appear in court. If they pay the fine as directed on the ticket, they plead guilty and avoid seeing a judge.

Because misdemeanors cover a broad range of petty crimes, most states have general guidelines for judges to follow but do not detail exact punishments. Some misdemeanor crimes such as DUI or drug crimes do have details in the statues as to what are minimum penalties. This information is available by visiting government websites and reading the statues, or by contacting local law enforcement.

A person who has been accused of a misdemeanor may plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor and receive less punishment.  A plea bargain is acceptable if the prosecutor and the judge agree to it, because the person receives less punishment than if they were convicted of a more serious crime.

Offenses Considered Misdemeanors

Offenses such as battery and assault, theft, and almost all traffic crimes are considered misdemeanors. These crimes are classed using a letter or number system; typically a Class A or Class 1 misdemeanor is considered a more serious crime than a Class B or Class 2 misdemeanor or lower. The more severe the crime, the more likely it is that the person will serve mandatory jail time.

DWI and DUI charges are also misdemeanors in most cases, especially on the first offense, but are classified somewhat differently from other types of misdemeanors and carry their own state-dictated penalties. Each DWI offense builds on any that follow so a second or third conviction may be elevated to a felony charge. Penalties for a DWI are severe and result in loss of driving privileges or the vehicle, mandatory jail time, large fines, and possibly house arrest. A person who is charged with a misdemeanor DUI may also be charged with various other misdemeanor crimes at the same time.

Drug charges are often considered misdemeanors as well, but may carry mandatory jail time as a penalty. Possession of any type of illegal drug or prescription drug when the person is not the patient, manufacturing methamphetamine or growing marijuana, or selling any type of illegal drug are all considered drug crimes. If a person is in possession of a deadly weapon or commits another type of crime, misdemeanor drug charges can turn into felonies quickly.

Misdemeanor Convictions and Criminal Penalties

Most misdemeanor convictions result in fines or community service penalties. Certain more severe misdemeanor offenses may result in jail time, but will not result in being sentenced to state prison. Jail time is served in the local or county jail and usually does not last longer than 12 months. Because of these facts, searching for misdemeanor records in the wrong place will not produce effective results.

If you know someone was convicted of a misdemeanor and sentenced to serve jail time, you must begin your misdemeanor records search with the local or county jail. Very few local jails have online search engines to look for incarcerated individuals, and they will usually purge this information from their databases once the prisoner is released. However, criminal records are still kept on anyone who has been convicted of a crime, even a minor misdemeanor.

How Misdemeanor Records Are Created

The details of all calls to the police are recorded on incident reports. These reports show the time and date of the call, who was involved, and what steps the officer took to resolve the situation. If law enforcement issues a citation or ticket for a misdemeanor crime, these details are recorded as well and passed on to the courts.

Every court case, no matter how minor, is recorded on what is known as a “docket.” If the crime was a minor traffic violation and the person was not required to make a court appearance, he or she paid a fine that means they plead guilty. This information is also recorded by county or district courthouses.

Since most courts are only recently going online with misdemeanor records, information may not be available for crimes which were committed more than a few years ago. Again, all these records are kept in hard copy format at district courts; contact the Clerk of Courts to conduct a search for past crimes.

Allow several days for information to be returned, especially if it is a new conviction. Be prepared to pay copying charges if applicable, and if you need certified copies of records be sure to let the Clerk know.