Malum prohibitum

Malum prohibitum

Malum prohibitum (plural mala prohibita, literal translation: "wrong [as or because] prohibited") is a Latin phrase used in law to refer to conduct that constitutes an unlawful act only by virtue of statute,[1] as opposed to conduct evil in and of itself, or malum in se.[2] Conduct that was so clearly violative of society's standards for allowable conduct that it was illegal under English common law is usually regarded as "malum in se". An offense that is malum prohibitum, for example, may not appear on the face to directly violate moral standards. The distinction between these two cases is discussed in State of Washington v. Thaddius X. Anderson [3]:

Criminal offenses can be broken down into two general categories malum in se and malum prohibitum. The distinction between malum in se and malum prohibitum offenses is best characterized as follows: a malum in se offense is "naturally evil as adjudged by the sense of a civilized community," whereas a malum prohibitum offense is wrong only because a statute makes it so. State v. Horton, 139 N.C. 588, 51 S.E. 945, 946 (1905).
"Public welfare offenses" are a subset of malum prohibitum offenses as they are typically regulatory in nature and often "'result in no direct or immediate injury to person or property but merely create the danger or probability of it which the law seeks to minimize.'" Bash, 130 Wn.2d at 607 (quoting Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246, 255-56, 72 S. Ct. 240, 96 L. Ed. 288 (1952)); see also State v. Carty, 27 Wn. App. 715, 717, 620 P.2d 137 (1980).

Some examples of mala prohibita include parking violations, copyright violations, tax laws, cultural taboos, and doing certain things without a license.

Crimes and torts that many[citation needed] claim are malum prohibitum—but not malum in se—include:

See also

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • malum prohibitum — malum pro·hib·i·tum / prō hi bə təm/ n pl mala pro·hib·i·ta / hi bə tə/ [New Latin, prohibited offense]: an offense prohibited by statute but not inherently evil or wrong is malum prohibitum and, therefore, does not demand mens rea Commonwealth v …   Law dictionary

  • malum prohibitum — /maebm prahibatam/ A wrong prohibited; a thing which is wrong because prohibited; an act which is not inherently immoral, but becomes so because its commission is expressly forbidden by positive law; an act involving an illegality resulting from… …   Black's law dictionary

  • malum prohibitum — /maebm prahibatam/ A wrong prohibited; a thing which is wrong because prohibited; an act which is not inherently immoral, but becomes so because its commission is expressly forbidden by positive law; an act involving an illegality resulting from… …   Black's law dictionary

  • malum prohibitum —    (Latin: wrong due to being prohibited) Crimes defined by statute, as compared to crimes based on common law and clear violations of society s norms. Such statutory crimes include criminal violations of regulatory acts and most white collar… …   Business law dictionary

  • malum prohibitum — See mala prohibits …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • malum prohibitum — …   Useful english dictionary

  • crime malum prohibitum — n. A crime that is illegal because it is prohibited by statute. See also malum prohibitum The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 …   Law dictionary

  • roy poet dispenser ove malum prohibitum, mais non malum per se — The king can grant a dispensation for a malum prohibitum, but not for a malum per se …   Black's law dictionary

  • act malum prohibitum — /aekt msbm prahibatam/ See malum prohibitum …   Black's law dictionary

  • act malum prohibitum — /aekt msbm prahibatam/ See malum prohibitum …   Black's law dictionary

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