Legal Terms Beginning with M
Magna Carta
Charter to which subscribed King John of England on June 12, 1215 in which a basic set of limits were set on the King’s powers. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mailbox Rule
A contract law exception that makes a mailed acceptance of an offer valid as of posting. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Maintenance
Refers to the obligation of one person to contribute, in part or in whole, to the cost of living of another person. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Malfeasance
Doing something which is illegal. Compare with misfeasance and nonfeasance. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Malice
Spite or ill-will. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Malicious Prosecution
A tort which compensates a person for the malicious, unfounded and unsuccesful institution of criminal or disciplinary proceedings. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mandamus
A writ which commands an individual, organization (eg. government), administrative tribunal or court to perform a certain action, usually to correct a prior illegal action or a failure to act in the first place. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Manslaughter
Unlawful killing of a human being without malice. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mareva Injunction
A temporary injunction that freezes the assets of a party pending further order or final resolution by the Court. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Maritime law
A very specific body of law peculiar to transportation by water, seamen and harbors. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Marriage
The voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Martial Law
The suspension of regular government and habeas corpus or the reliance of military law enforcement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mary Carter Agreement
Where some defendants settle with a plaintiff a term of which is a loan by the settling defendant to the plaintiff, to be repaid by any monies recovered from the remaining defendant(s). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Massachusetts trust
A unique way to organize a business where the property is bought by, or transferred to, a trustee (such as a trust company) and the trustee issues trust units, which the investors, or their designates, hold as beneficiaries. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Matrimony
The legal state of being married. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mediation
The most popular form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), mediation involves the appointment of a mediator who acts as a facilitator assisting the parties in communicating, essentially negotiating a settlement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Melton's Case
A mid-1500s English case, never brought to Court because the king and his Parliament defeated the otherwise meritorious claim by retroactive statute. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mens rea
Mens rea: Latin for guilty mind; guilty knowledge or intention to commit a prohibited act. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Minor
A person who is legally underage. It varies between 21 and 18 years of age. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Minutes
The official record of a meeting. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Miranda warning
Also known as the Miranda Rule, this is the name given to the requirement that police officers, in the U.S.A., must warn suspects upon arrest that they have the right to remain silent, that any statement that they make could be used against them in a court of law, that they have the right to contact a lawyer and that if they cannot afford a lawyer, that one will be provided before any questioning is so desired. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Misdemeanor
(USA) A crime of lesser seriousness than a felony where the punishment might be a fine or prison for less than one year. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Misfeasance
Improperly doing something which a person has the legal right to do. Compare with malfeasance and nonfeasance. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mis-joinder
When a person has been named as a party to a law suit when that person should not have been added. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Misrepresentation
A false and material statement which induces a party to enter into a contract. This is a ground for rescission of the contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mistrial
A partial or complete trial which is found to be null and void and of no effect because of some irregularity. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mitigating circumstances
These are facts that, while not negating an offence or wrongful action, tend to show that the defendant may have had some grounds for acting the way he/she did. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
M'Naghten Rules
A defence to criminal law liability developed in England in if at the time of the offence, the accused had a disease of the mind such that he was unable to know that his act was wrong. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mitigation of damages
A person who sues another for damages has a responsibility to minimize those damages, as far as reasonable. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Modus operandi
Latin: method of operation. Used by law enforcement officials to refer to a criminal's preferred method of committing crime. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Moiety
Half of something. For example, it can be said that joint tenants hold a moiety in property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Monopoly
A commercial advantage enjoyed by only one or a select few companies in which only those companies can trade in a certain area. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Moot
a side issue, problem or question which does not have to be decided to resolve the main issues in a dispute. also called a moot point - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Moot court
Fictional or hypothetical trial, usually hosted by law schools, as training for future barristers or litigators. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Moratorium
The temporary suspension of legal action against a person. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Mortgage
An interest given on a piece of land, in writing, to guarantee the payment of a debt or the execution of some action. It automatically becomes void when the debt is paid or the action is executed. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
MOU
Abbreviation fo Memorandum of Understanding. A document which, if meeting the other criteria, can be, in law, a contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Murder
Intentional homicide (the taking of another person’s life), without legal justification or provocation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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