A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on the first letter of the word from the list above to go to the appropriate section of the glossary.

- M -

Magistrate (See U.S. Magistrate Judge.) - Judicial officer exercising some of the functions of a judge. It also refers in a general way to a judge.

Malfeasance - The commission of an unlawful act.

Malicious prosecution - An action instituted with intention of injuring the defendant and without probable cause, and which terminates in favor of the person prosecuted.

Malpractice - Any professional misconduct.

Manslaughter - The unlawful killing of another without intent to kill; either voluntary (upon a sudden impulse); or involuntary (during the commission of an unlawful act not ordinarily expected to result in great bodily harm). (See also murder.)

Marshal - The executive officer of the federal court.

Martindale-Hubbell Law - A publication of several volumes which contains names, addresses, Director specialties, and rating of United States lawyers; also includes digests of state and foreign statutory law.

Mediation - A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps them agree on a settlement.

Memorandum - An informal note or instrument embodying something the parties desire to have in written evidence.

Memorialized - In writing.

Merger - The absorption of one thing or right into another.

Minor - A person under the age of legal competence.

Minute book - A book maintained by the courtroom deputy (bailiff), which contains minute entries of all hearings and trial conducted by the judge.

Minutes - Memorandum of a transaction or proceeding.

Miranda warning - Requirement that police tell a suspect in their custody of his or her constitutional rights before they question him or her. So named as a result of the Miranda v. Arizona ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

Misdemeanor - A criminal offense lesser than a felony and generally punishable by fine or by imprisonment other than in a penitentiary.

Misfeasance - Improper performance of an act which a person might lawfully do.

Mistrial - An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.

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.

Mittimus - The name of an order in writing, issuing from a court and directing the sheriff or other officer to convey a person to a prison, asylum, or reformatory, and directing the jailer or other appropriate official to receive and safely keep the person until his or her fate shall be determined by due course of law.

Mitigation - A reduction, abatement, or diminution of a penalty or punishment imposed by law.

Moot - A moot case or a moot point is one not subject to a judicial determination because it involves an abstract question or a pretended controversy that has not yet actually arisen or has already passed. Mootness usually refers to a court's refusal to consider a case because the issue involved has been resolved prior to the court's decision, leaving nothing that would be affected by the court's decision.

Motion - An application made to a court or judge which requests a ruling or order in favor of the applicant.

Motion in Limine - A motion made by counsel requesting that information which might be prejudicial not be allowed to be heard in a case.

Murder - The unlawful killing of a human being with deliberate intent to kill: (1) murder in the first degree is characterized by premeditation; (2) murder in the second degree is characterized by a sudden and instantaneous intent to kill or to cause injury without caring whether the injury kills or not.

Mutual assent - A meeting of the minds; agreement.