Also known as: misconducts in office · official misconduct · misconduct in public office
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A public officer's corrupt violation of assigned duties by malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance.
Marcus Mitchell, a city police detective, planted drugs in Mariam Mansour's apartment during an unauthorized search. Two days later Mariam appeared at the station with counsel and voluntarily surrendered additional records. The later voluntary production occurred after the detective's misconduct in office.
Mayor Maurice Marshall directed Police Chief Melanie Morris to overlook code violations by campaign donors. The Watchdog Newsletter published the directive after receiving an anonymous tip. The mayor's order constituted misconduct in office that the newsletter sought to expose.
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Representative Mustafa Mahmoud used committee staff and funds to pay personal expenses. The House appointed a select committee to investigate eligibility after the conduct surfaced. The diversion amounted to misconduct in office that triggered the inquiry.
Procurement officer Ming Ma accepted cash from contractors in exchange for favorable agency decisions. Federal agents arrested her on a warrant while she traveled in another state. The kickback scheme constituted misconduct in office that led to the indictment.
Sheriff Marcus Mitchell refused to execute a valid court order to seize contraband from a political supporter. The refusal persisted for weeks despite repeated judicial directives. The sustained inaction qualified as misconduct in office.
Court clerk Mariam Mansour sold sealed case files to a private investigator for cash payments. The sales continued over several months until an internal audit uncovered the pattern. The clerk's repeated sales constituted misconduct in office.
A public officer's corrupt violation of assigned duties by malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance qualifies as misconduct in office.
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The Constitution authorizes removal of the president upon impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate for bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. A congressional ethics panel finding of bribery or serious abuse of office fits within this standard.
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Trading an official appointment for arranged financial contributions to a reelection effort constitutes a corrupt quid pro quo that qualifies as bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
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Model Penal Code section 1.06(3)(b) permits prosecution of any offense based on misconduct in office at any time while the defendant remains in public office or employment or within two years thereafter, extending the ordinary period by no more than three years.
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…this question, we must consider once again the tension between the sometimes competing goals of, on the one hand, deterring official misconduct and removing inducements to unreasonable invasions of privacy and, on the other, establishing procedures under which criminal defendants are "acquitted or convicted on the basis of all the…