Malum Prohibitum Offenses

The vast majority of actions that have been deemed crimes and are enforced or punished today are crimes that are considered to be malum prohibitum offenses. This is a wider degree of crimes that are, generally speaking, not seen as being wrong in and of themselves, like malum in se crimes.

Malum prohibitum crimes, in addition to being not wrong on their own, vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. These crimes are wrong because the legislature or city council or other law making body for the jurisdiction has decided that they want Action X to be a crime and punishable.

Because the crimes that are malum prohibitum vary with jurisdiction, there are a wide number of crimes that are exclusive to one city or town. The “weird laws” books that tell people that it is illegal to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant and inform the world of other bizarre crimes are all crimes that are malum prohibitum.

Offenses in this category are less likely to be ancient crimes as well. Malum in se crimes date back centuries as they were, for the most part, developed through the common law system and morals. Murder is a malum in se crime as it is just wrong to take another person’s life.

It is important to keep in mind that just because a crime is malum prohibitum, it does not mean that that crime is less serious or less worthy of punishment. Gun and drug possession crimes both fall under the category of malum prohibitum but can carry lengthy prison sentences all the same.

Contact a Las Vegas Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you have been accused of a crime in the Las Vegas area, contact a Las Vegas criminal lawyer from William Palmer & Associates, P.C. at 702-888-2222.