Also known as: mala · malum in se · malum prohibitum
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Latin term denoting something bad or evil. In criminal law it classifies conduct as malum in se when inherently wrongful or as malum prohibitum when wrongful solely because a statute or ordinance forbids it.
Mina Mehta flew a small drone indoors at a crowded conference despite a posted building rule and local ordinance banning the activity. The drone struck a light fixture that fell and killed an attendee. Because the ordinance was malum prohibitum, the court examined whether the death was a foreseeable result of the violation before imposing manslaughter liability.
Ming Ma ordered underage pledges to consume repeated shots of liquor at an off-campus initiation in violation of anti-hazing and alcohol laws. One pledge collapsed and died of alcohol poisoning. The court treated the offenses as malum in se and therefore imposed involuntary manslaughter liability without requiring separate proof of foreseeability.
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Marco Marquez failed to register a required item under a regulatory statute that imposed penalties regardless of awareness. The court analyzed whether the offense was malum prohibitum and therefore whether due process required proof of knowledge before conviction.
Mason McCarthy approached accident victims in person to offer legal services in violation of bar rules. The court considered whether the prohibition was malum prohibitum rather than inherently wrongful when evaluating the constitutionality of the restriction.
Melanie Morris moved into a new city without registering as required by a local ordinance applicable to convicted persons. The court examined whether the duty was malum prohibitum and therefore whether lack of actual knowledge defeated criminal liability.
Mohan Malhotra was induced by government agents to sell a product in violation of a licensing statute. The court assessed whether the underlying offense was malum prohibitum when determining the availability of an entrapment defense.
When the underlying misdemeanor is malum in se, most courts impose manslaughter liability for a resulting death without further inquiry. When the misdemeanor is malum prohibitum, the majority rule requires proof that the death was a foreseeable or natural consequence of the unlawful conduct.
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No. Under the majority common-law rule, a death during a malum prohibitum misdemeanor supports manslaughter only if the death was a reasonably foreseeable result of committing that misdemeanor.
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Foreseeability supplies the required link between the regulatory violation and the death. Courts examine whether a reasonable person would have anticipated the fatal outcome from the prohibited conduct under the circumstances.
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Yes, provided the jurisdiction follows the majority rule and the resulting death was a foreseeable consequence of the malum prohibitum conduct.
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…abandonment of the ingredient of intent, not merely with considerations of expediency in obtaining convictions, nor with the malum prohibitum classification of the crime, but with the peculiar nature and quality of the offense. We referred to “. . . a now familiar type of legislation whereby penalties serve as effective means of…