Common Legal Terms terms starting with M

32 terms

  1. Magistrate See U.S. Magistrate Judge.
  2. magistrate judge A judicial officer of a district court who conducts initial proceedings in criminal cases, decides criminal misdemeanor cases, conducts many pretrial…
  3. magistrate judges Judicial officers who assist U.S. district court judges in getting cases ready for trial.
  4. Mala Bad.
  5. Mala fide With bad faith.
  6. Malfeasance The commission of an unlawful act.
  7. Malicious prosecution An action instituted with intention of injuring the defendant and without probable cause and which terminates in favor of the person prosecuted.
  8. Malo animo With an evil intent.
  9. Malo modo In a bad manner.
  10. Malpractice Any professional misconduct.
  11. Mandamus Writ issued by a superior court to an inferior tribunal to enforce the performance of a public duty.
  12. Marshal In federal court, the individual that serves process on behalf of an indigent party to an action.
  13. Martindale-HubbellLaw Directory A publication consisting of several volumes which contains names, addresses, specialties and rating of United States lawyers; also includes digests of…
  14. Mediation Mediation is an informal, voluntary method of resolving disputes, in which the parties in conflict meet with a trained, independent third party to come up…
  15. Memorabilia Items to be remembered.
  16. Memorandum of law A legal brief in support of the position taken by a party in an action.
  17. Mens rea The "guilty mind" necessary to establish criminal responsibility.
  18. Merger When two or more companies consolidate by exchanging common stock, and the resulting single company replaces the old companies, the consolidation is…
  19. Minor A person under the age of legal competence.
  20. Minute book A book maintained in state court that contains minute entries of all hearings and trial conducted by the judge.
  21. Minutes Memorandum of a transaction or proceeding.
  22. Miranda warning Requirement that police tell a suspect in their custody of his or her constitutional rights before they question him or her.
  23. Misdemeanor A criminal offense lesser than a felony and generally punishable by fine or by imprisonment of less than 1 year.
  24. Misfeasance Improper performance of an act which a person might lawfully do.
  25. Mistrial An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
  26. Mitigating circumstances Those which do not constitute a justification or excuse for an offense but which may be considered as reasons for reducing the degree of blame.
  27. Mitigation Term usually used to refer to various changes or improvements made in a home; for instance, to reduce the average level of radon.
  28. Moot A moot case or a moot point is one not subject to a judicial determination because it involves an abstract question or a controversy that has not yet…
  29. Mortis causa In expectation of death.
  30. Motion A formal, written request filed with the court. Motions are made in court all the time for many purposes: to continue (postpone) a trial to a later date…
  31. Motion in Limine A motion made prior to trial by counsel or the pro se litigant requesting that information which might be prejudicial not be allowed in a case.
  32. Mutual assent A meeting of the minds; agreement.