UCMJ Article 131c: Misprision of a Serious Offense

Misprision is knowing that someone else committed a serious offense, taking a positive step to conceal it, and failing to report it to civilian or military authorities as soon as possible. Staying silent is not enough; there must be an act of concealment. A “serious offense” is one punishable by death or by more than 1 year of confinement. The maximum is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 3 years.

Three elements of misprision

Under 10 U.S.C. § 931c, the offense is committed by a person subject to the UCMJ “who knows that another person has committed a serious offense” and “wrongfully conceals the commission of the offense and fails to make the commission of the offense known to civilian or military authorities as soon as possible.”

The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 84.b:

A certain serious offense was committed by a certain person.
The accused knew that person had committed the serious offense.
Thereafter, the accused wrongfully concealed the serious offense and failed to make it known to civilian or military authorities as soon as possible.

Before January 1, 2019, misprision was an enumerated Article 134 offense. The Military Justice Act of 2016 moved it to Article 131c (Pub. L. 114-328, § 5446; MCM 2024, Appendix 17, analysis of ¶ 84).

What makes an offense “serious”

Under ¶ 84.c(2), a serious offense is “any offense punishable under the authority of the UCMJ by death or by confinement for a term exceeding 1 year.” The test is the authorized maximum for the underlying offense. Concealing, for example, a larceny of military property worth more than $1,000 (10 years) qualifies; concealing a simple assault (3 months) does not.

A positive act of concealment

“A mere failure or refusal to disclose the serious offense without some positive act of concealment does not make one guilty of this offense” (¶ 84.c(3)). The Manual’s example is making a false entry in an account book to conceal a theft committed by another. Silence alone is outside the article; silence plus an act that hides the offense is within it.

Misprision or accessory after the fact

The Manual defines misprision as concealing a serious offense committed by another “but without such previous concert with or subsequent assistance to the principal as would make the accused an accessory,” and adds: “An intent to benefit the principal is not necessary to this offense” (¶ 84.c(1)).

The two offenses differ in what the accused does. An accessory after the fact under Article 78 receives, comforts, or assists the offender in order to hinder or prevent apprehension, trial, or punishment. Warning the offender that investigators are coming, or helping the offender hide, is assistance to the offender and points toward Article 78. Misprision is concealment of the offense itself, with or without any wish to help the person who committed it.

Article 131c maximum compared with accessory liability

Under ¶ 84.d, the maximum is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 3 years. An accessory after the fact faces up to half of the principal offense’s maximum confinement, never more than 10 years (MCM ¶ 2.d), which can exceed the misprision ceiling when the underlying offense is grave.

Concealment done with the intent to influence, impede, or obstruct a pending or expected case can also be obstructing justice under Article 131b, which carries 5 years.

Sources

10 U.S.C. § 931c, Article 131c, Misprision of serious offense (Cornell LII)
Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 2.d and ¶ 84; Appendix 17, analysis of ¶ 84

General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.