Law Library Legal Dictionary M (Page 2)

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Legal Definitions – M (Page 2)

Medical Malpractice – Any treatment, lack of treatment, or other departure from accepted standards of medical care, health care, or safety on the part of a health care provider that causes harm to a patient. See also: State Limits on Medical Malpractice Awards, Medical Malpractice: Pharmacy Error, Cesarean Delivery Medical Malpractice

Medical Marijuana Laws – State laws that permit doctors to recommend the use of marijuana for the treatment of various medical conditions.

Medical Negligence – The negligent, improper, or unskilled treatment of a patient by a health care professional.

Medicare and Medicaid – Two government programs that finance healthcare for individuals. Medicare assists the elderly and the disabled, while Medicaid assists people from low-income households.

Medicare and Medicaid Fraud – Fraud committed by an individual or corporation that seeks to collect Medicare or Medicaid health care coverage or reimbursement under false pretenses.

Megan’s Law – A type of state law that requires convicted sex offenders to register with local law enforcement authorities.

Mental Competency to Stand Trial – The level of mental competency that a criminal defendant must possess in order to be tried for a crime.

Mental Health Malpractice – Professional malpractice committed by a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist.

Mental Health Parity Act – A federal law that is supposed to end the practice of health providers providing fewer benefits on health plans for mental disorders than physical disorders.

Merchandise Risk of Loss – The responsibility for any damage or destruction of goods as they are being transported from the seller to the buyer.

Merger Clause – A contract clause that prevents a party from claiming the contract does not reflect the complete understanding of the parties after the contract was formed.

Mesothelioma – A disease caused by exposure to high levels of asbestos.

Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) – California’s state law cap for damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Military Law – The branch of law that regulates a government’s military establishment. See also: Military Family Issue Lawyers, Military Service and U.S. Citizenship, Military Medical Benefit Lawyers

Minimum Wage Rate – The absolute lowest rate of pay by law, usually by the hour, that an employer must pay a worker for their job.

Minor in Possession (MIP) Laws – Laws that criminalize the possession of an alcoholic beverage in public by a minor who is under the legal age of 21. This crime is often a misdemeanor, with penalties ranging in severity depending upon individual state laws.

Miranda Warnings – Warnings that must be given to a suspect in police custody that advise him of certain constitutional rights that he possesses before being interrogated.

Mirror Wills – Identical wills that are executed by two different parties, usually a husband and wife. Each party names the other as the executor, and each party usually leaves the same property and gifts to the other.

Misappropriation – A form of theft where an individual misuses or takes something, such as money or personal property, for an unauthorized purpose. It often occurs as an abuse of a fiduciary duty.

Misdemeanor – A lesser crime punishable by a fine and/or county jail time for up to one year. See also: Unclassified Misdemeanor Laws, Misdemeanor Expungement, Juvenile Misdemeanor Lawyers

Misdiagnosis Claims – Personal injury claims that involve wrong, incorrect, or failed diagnoses of a medical condition.

Misfeasance – The negligent or improper performance of an action that would otherwise be legal.

Missing Evidence Rule – A rule that governs how a jury should interpret instances where a party fails to produce evidence at trial.

Mistake of Fact Defense – A specific type of defense that states the defendant should not be found guilty because he was mistaken about some fact that is central in proving the crime.

Mitigating Factors – Factors that serve to decrease the penalties associated with a criminal act. These may include the defendant’s age, the defendant’s mental capacity, and provocation of the defendant.

Money Laundering – The federal crime of making money received from illegal means look as though it has been obtained through a legitimate manner.

Money Order Fraud – A type of white collar crime involving the issuance of fake or fraudulent money orders.

Mortgage – A real estate lien on real property that is placed by a bank or financial institution in exchange for money that the property owner borrowed from the financial institution in order to pay for the property. See also: Types of Mortgages, Mortgage Loan Documents, Mortgage Settlement Scams

Motion for Dismissal – A court motion that allows the court to terminate a case before it begins.

Motion to Compel – A request to the court to require a party to take certain actions, especially during the discovery part of a case.

Motion to Quash – A specific type of request that asks the court to render the decision of a previous lower court ruling invalid.

Motor Vehicle Defects – Any faults in a motor vehicle that are the result of the actions of the manufacturer.

Move-In & Move-Out Inspections – Inspections that a tenant and a landlord perform on a leased property when the tenant moves in and when the tenant moves out, so the tenant and the landlord can assess any damage that the tenant may have caused to the property while in possession of the property.

Movie Piracy – The illegal act of selling, acquiring, or distributing copyrighted films.

Mugging – A threatened or actual physical attack with the intent to rob someone. It is a crime that is normally carried out on the street.

Multiple Entry Visa – A specific type of visa that allows the visa holder to enter the U.S. multiple times within a given time frame.

Murder – The intentional killing of another human being. States often divide murder into two types: first degree and second degree.

Museum Liability – Liability that a museum faces if a member of the public is injured on its premises as a result of the museum breaching a duty that it owes to that person.

Music Royalties – A percentage of gross or net profit or a fixed amount per sale or use to which a creator of a musical work is entitled.

Mutual Wills – Two or more will documents that are mutually binding upon one another. The parties may agree that following the death of one of the parties, the surviving party is limited in the way that they can distribute their real or personal property.

Mutual Restraining Orders – A specific type of restraining order issued in some divorce cases that restrict both partners in the divorce case from taking certain actions, such as contacting one another or communicating with one another.

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Last Modified: 06-19-2017 06:18 AM UTC