MALICE (OF., Fr. malice, from Lat. militia, badness, from malus, bad). While in the ordinary sense means an evil disposition or state of mind of Mle person toward another, in law it denotes a particular state of mind which precedes and causes an illegal act. In general, malice in law may be said to be the conscious violation of law to the prejudice of another, or it may be the state of mind involved in the commission of an not without regard to its consequence and with out regard to social duty afal the rights of others.
It will be seen that malice does not necessarily involve express intent to commit a wrongful net or conscious violation of law, although it may do so. and usually does. Thus, one who de liberately plans to destroy another's property is guilty of malicious injury to property if he car ries out his but he would also be guilty of the same offense if there had been no intent or plait to destroy property if he did the act in reeklesa disregard of the safety of the property. The so-called doctrine of constructive intent applies to malice.
Attlee may be either implied or expressed. Im plied malice is that in which the malicious state of mind is presumed from the commission of the act with which the defendant is charged. Thus murder. which is a crime of implied malice, may be proved by proving that the defendant com mitted the homicide without apparent legal jus tification. 31alice in the civil law of torts is im
plied malice. Express malice is that which re quirea to be expressly proved and which is not established by mere proof of the act with which a defendant is charged. Most statutory crimes requiring malice are of this character. Thus in case of malicious injury to property the malice must he expressly proved. Thia, however. may be, and usually is. accomplished by proving cir cumsla trees surrounding, or afrectine, the commis sion of the set, hut not from proof of the net alone.
The common-law crimes of malice are libel, murder, and arson; and there are now numerous statutory malicious crimes, of which malicious mischief and malicious injury to property are common examples. Libel, slander, slander of title, malicious prosecution, false arrest, abuse of process, are all torts involving malice in their eonunission, but as has been pointed out the malice is presumed from the tortious act. Ex press malice of a tort-feasor may be the basis for a verdict of the jury awarding punitive or vindictive damages (q.v.). See the articles treat ing of the subjects mentioned above, and con sult the authorities there cited.