criminal law and procedure

Malum prohibitum is an act that is not inherently immoral but is prohibited by statute. Common examples of malum prohibitum actions include jaywalking and regulatory violations.

Manslaughter is the act of killing another human being without malice. It is a general intent crime that is distinct from murder because it requires less culpability. See Homicide.

Marital privilege, also known as spousal privilege, is recognized by the law of evidence and the Supreme Court to protect private spousal communications and prevent any testimony against a spouse from being used in judicial proceedings.

• spousal privilege
• marital privilege
• Federal Rules of Evidence
• civil procedure
• evidence

Materiality refers to the significance or importance of a piece of evidence or information in relation to a particular legal matter. It is a concept that is commonly used in every legal field.

A matter of law, or question of law, is a determination of the applicable law as opposed to a matter of fact. Matter of law is seen in judgments as a matter of law where a judge makes a decision applying the relevant laws to irrefutable evidence.

The Matthew Shepard Act, 18 U.S.C. § 249, also known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was enacted to expand previous hate crime legislation and to provide more funding and resources to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.

Mayhem, or to maim, is a felony at common law.

McNaghten Rule (more commonly spelled M’Naghten rule) was the first, and is still one of the four main tests jurisdictions use to determine whether a criminal defendant can claim insanity as a defense to a crime. 

Mens rea refers to criminal intent. The literal translation from Latin is "guilty mind." The plural of mens rea is mentes reae. Mens rea​ is the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.

• criminal law
• negligence
• RECKLESSNESS
• Strict Liability

Mental health and the law interact in numerous ways. The term "competence" signifies a legal conclusion that an individual is capable of entering into a binding contract, transferring assets, or participating in a legal proceeding.