Also known as: malefactions · wrongdoing · misdeed
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An evil deed or offense. A crime.
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Miranda Morales arranged the killing of a key prosecution witness after learning the witness planned to testify against her. The court examined whether her conduct qualified as malefaction designed to silence testimony. Because the evidence showed intent to prevent the witness from appearing, the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing doctrine applied and the hearsay statements became admissible.
Megan Moore attempted to exercise a power of appointment in favor of her nephew after her brother had pressured her with threats. The court reviewed whether the exercise was effective given the surrounding circumstances. Evidence of coercion established malefaction that invalidated the appointment under the requirement that the donee remain free from wrongdoing.
Matthew Martinez, an attorney at a law firm, traded on confidential acquisition information obtained through his representation of a client. Prosecutors charged him with securities fraud based on the misappropriation of that information. The court treated the unauthorized use of the material as malefaction that breached his duty and supported the conviction.
Miles Montgomery assisted a terminally ill patient in ending her life despite a state criminal prohibition. The court considered whether the statute reflected a legitimate interest in preventing malefaction that could extend to vulnerable individuals. The prohibition was upheld as rationally related to protecting against such conduct.
Maya Malik challenged her death sentence by presenting statistical evidence of racial patterns in capital cases. The court evaluated whether the data alone proved that malefaction in the form of discriminatory application had occurred in her proceeding. Without evidence of purposeful discrimination in her specific case, the challenge failed.
Madison Meyers, a sitting federal judge, faced Senate impeachment proceedings on charges of bribery. The court addressed whether the Senate possessed authority to determine what constituted malefaction warranting removal. The political-question doctrine limited judicial review of the Senate's judgment.
Malefaction refers to an evil deed or offense amounting to a crime. The term originates from Latin and appears in older authorities as a synonym for criminal conduct or wrongdoing.
Supporting sources
Modern authorities rarely employ the term malefaction and instead use the broader word wrongdoing when addressing conduct that invalidates transfers or triggers forfeiture doctrines. The archaic label survives mainly in dictionaries.
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Malefaction denotes conduct that rises to the level of a crime rather than a mere tort or breach of contract. Legal rules that reference wrongdoing often require this criminal-grade conduct before imposing consequences such as forfeiture of confrontation rights or invalidation of donative transfers.
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…Confrontation Clause that make no claim to be a surrogate means of assessing reliability. For example, the rule of forfeiture by wrongdoing (which we accept) extinguishes confrontation claims on essentially equitable grounds; it does not purport to be an alternative means of determining reliability. See Reynolds v. United…