Crimes cover a scope of human acts in both individual opinions and from a legal standpoint. Society thrives on unwritten codes of conduct, some of which informs what is considered illegal by law (Kappeler & Potter, 2017). When an individual violates this code, it may be considered a crime, even though it is not punishable by law. Such violations differ with geographical zones. In some regions, prostitution is considered immoral and is labeled illegal, whereas it is permitted in others. All individuals live under another set of rules put forth by state institutions and recognized by society as what monitors and controls its participants (Kappeler & Potter, 2017). Individuals who contravene those rules commit a crime. There must be an action or exclusion for a crime to occur, and a purpose, and these must happen simultaneously. Finally, there has to be an established causation relationship between the act and the consequence for the individual to be liable. It is to prove that the result the victim experienced would not have occurred, if the specified action had not taken place. A crime's gravity should be used to determine its categorization as either a misdemeanor or a felony. A way to determine the classification of a crime is to weigh whether it resulted in any injuries and the extent of the injury. Another determinant is frequency. If there is a case of repeated misdemeanor violations of the same nature, the charges may be raised to a felony (Roberts, 2017). Other determinants involve the value of property stolen or destroyed. State jurisdictions typically have a specified amount, beyond which a misdemeanor becomes a felony (Фазан, 2019). In most cases, states have their definitions of what a misdemeanor and a felony is, and in most cases, they use jail time to differentiate (Roberts, 2017). Misdemeanors are considered minor crimes and carry shorter sentences compared to felonies. In other regions, the distinction lies with the place of holding, either at a local jail or a prison with higher security. The circumstances through which some felony crimes occur can give leeway for them to be reduced to misdemeanors. Felonies such as tax evasion can be misdemeanors when they occur for the first time when the amount owing is below $5000, or if the individual involved does not have a criminal record. Another felony that should be counted as a misdemeanor is theft, where no serious harm was caused. Lastly, child desertion should be viewed as a misdemeanor, whose punishment should consist of fines and short sentences. The act of recording a conversation between individuals and sharing it should be considered a misdemeanor, except in the case of investigative journalism. In the age of social media, it is a rising concern as people can secretly record others and share them at the click of a button. Whatever the reason may be, whether bullying, fun, or exposure, it should be classified as a misdemeanor. In cases where the conversation results in an exposure of a company's trade secrets, or the individual suffers a significant loss, the act should be charged as a felony.
References
Kappeler, V. E., & Potter, G. W. (2017). The mythology of crime and criminal justice . Waveland Press.
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Roberts, J. M. (2017). Informed Misdemeanor Sentencing. Hofstra Law Review , 46 (1).
Фазан, В. (2019). MISDEMEANOR.
