CJCENTRAL: Criminal Law Today, 2E: Glossary

M'Naghten Rule
a rule for determining insanity which asks whether the defendant knew what he was doing, or whether he knew that what he was doing was wrong.

mala in se
acts that are regarded, by tradition and convention, as wrong in themselves.

mala prohibita
acts that are considered "wrongs" only because there is a law against them.

malice aforethought
an "unjustifiable, inexcusable and unmitigated person-endangering-state-of-mind."

malice
a legal term which refers to the intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or legal excuse. In cases of homicide the term means "an intention to kill."

manslaughter
the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. Manslaughter differs from murder in that malice and premeditation are lacking. See also, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

mayhem
intentional infliction of injury on another that causes the removal of, seriously disfigures, or impairs the function of a member or organ of the body.

mens rea
the specific mental state operative in the defendant at the time of a crime; a guilty mind.

mere possession
possession in which one may or may not be aware of what he or she possesses.

mere preparation
An act or omission that may be part of a series of acts or omissions constituting a course of conduct planned to culminate in the commission of a crime, but which fails to meet the requirements for a substantial step.
Also, preparatory actions or steps taken toward the completion of a crime that are remote from the actual commission of the crime.

misconduct in office
acts which a public office holder (1) has no right to perform, (2) performs improperly, (3) fails to perform in the face of an affirmative duty to act.

misdemeanor
a minor crime; an offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a local confinement facility, for a period of which the upper limit is prescribed by statute in a given jurisdiction, typically limited to a year or less.

misprision of felony
the failure to report a known crime; concealment of a crime.

misprison of treason
the concealment or nondisclosure of the known treason of another.

mistake of fact
misinterpretation, misunderstanding, or forgetfulness of a fact relating to the subject matter at hand; belief in the existence of a thing or condition that does not exist.

mistake of law
a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the law relevant to a situation at hand.

mitigating factors
circumstances surrounding the commission of a crime which do not in law justify or excuse the act, but which in fairness may be considered as reducing the blameworthiness of the defendant. Also, those elements of an offense or of an offender's background that could result in a lesser sentence under the determinate sentencing model than would otherwise be called for by sentencing guidelines.

mixed sentence
one which requires that a convicted offender serve weekends (or other specified periods of time) in a confinement facility (usually a jail), while undergoing probation supervision in the community.

Model Penal Code
a model code of criminal laws intended to standardize general provisions of criminal liability, sentencing, defenses, and the definitions of specific crimes between and among the states. The Model Penal Code was developed by the American Law Institute.

moral enterprise
the activities of moral crusaders through which new laws are created.

moral entrepreneurs
those who work to enact desired legislation.

morals
ethical principles, or principles meant to guide human conduct and behavior; principles or standards of right and wrong.

morals offenses
a category of unlawful behavior that was originally created to protect the family and related social institutions. Included are crimes such as lewdness, indecency, sodomy, and other sex-related offenses such as seduction, fornication, adultery, bigamy, pornography, obscenity, cohabitation, and prostitution.

mores
unwritten but generally known rules that govern serious violations of the social code.

motive
a person's reason for committing a crime.

murder
The unlawful killing of a human being, carried out with malice or planned in advance. According to the common law, the killing of one human being by another with malice aforethought. See also criminal homicide.

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