9,901 articles
Mason–Dixon line
Mason–Dixon line: boundary surveyed 1763–1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon between Pennsylvania and Maryland at 39°43′ N, later the symbolic free-state/slave-state divide after the 1820 Missouri Compromise debates.
Mass shootings in the United States
Mass shootings in the United States: multi-victim firearm attacks counted under competing definitions (FBI active shooter, GVA 4+ shot). Key facts: under 1% of US gun deaths, disputed international share, 2025 record-low mass killings.
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018): US Supreme Court case in which Jack Phillips refused a same-sex wedding cake; the Court reversed 7-2 on Free Exercise grounds due to Commission hostility to religion.
Mata v. Avianca, Inc.
Mata v. Avianca, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 2023, No. 22-cv-1461) is the first widely reported sanction for AI-fabricated citations: Judge Castel fined Schwartz, LoDuca, and Levidow, Levidow & Oberman $5,000 under Rule 11 for filing six ChatGPT-invented cases.
Matchstick Men
Matchstick Men is a 2003 crime-comedy-drama directed by Ridley Scott. Nicolas Cage plays an OCD con artist whose life is upended by a girl posing as his daughter.
Material breach of treaty
A material breach of treaty is a breach serious enough to let another party terminate or suspend the treaty, codified in Article 60 of the 1969 Vienna Convention.
Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
A 2017 Act of the Indian Parliament amending the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, extending paid maternity leave to 26 weeks for the first two children.
Matricide
Matricide is the killing of one's mother, a rare crime (under 2% of known-relationship U.S. homicides), usually by adult sons, often linked to psychosis; also a central theme in Greek tragedy and psychoanalytic theory.
Matrícula Consular
Matrícula Consular (matrícula consular de alta seguridad, MCAS): Mexican consular ID card for citizens abroad, issued since 1871, five-year validity, proving nationality, identity, and domicile without immigration status; distinct from Spain's consular registration.
Matrilineality in Judaism
Matrilineality in Judaism: the halakhic rule that Jewish status follows the mother, codified in Mishnah Kiddushin 3:12, developed after the Babylonian exile, modified by Reform Judaism's 1983 resolution, and distinct from Israel's Law of Return.
Matrimonial Causes Act 1937
Matrimonial Causes Act 1937: English divorce reform statute from A. P. Herbert's Private Member's Bill, adding desertion (3 years), cruelty and incurable insanity (5 years) to adultery, with a three-year bar and new nullity grounds.
Matrimonial property in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Matrimonial property in the United Kingdom and Ireland dictates asset division upon divorce, with England and Wales using needs-based discretion and Scotland using a statutory fair-sharing model.
Matteo Messina Denaro
Matteo Messina Denaro (U siccu, Diabolik), Cosa Nostra boss of Castelvetrano and Trapani province, fugitive 1993-2023, convicted for the Falcone and Borsellino bombings, arrested January 2023 at a Palermo clinic, died in custody September 2023.
Matthew A. Schwartz
Matthew A. Schwartz, born 1978, is an American judge on the Second Circuit since 2026, formerly a Sullivan & Cromwell partner who represented President Trump.
Matthew Charles Johnson
Matthew Charles Johnson, an Australian prisoner with more than 150 prior convictions, murdered gangland boss Carl Williams with an exercise bike stem at Barwon Prison in April 2010; sentenced in 2011 to life with a 32-year non-parole period.
Matthew Cox
Matthew Bevan Cox, American former Tampa mortgage broker and FBI most-wanted con man, committed an estimated $55 million in mortgage fraud using forged documents and stolen identities, pleaded guilty in 2007 to a 316-month sentence later cut to 234 months.
Matthew E. Orso
Matthew E. Orso, born Matthew Emile Orso in 1978, is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the Western District of North Carolina since 2025.
Matthew F. Kennelly
Matthew F. Kennelly, born 1956, is an American jurist serving as a senior United States district judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2021.
Matthew F. Leitman
Matthew F. Leitman, also known as Matthew Frederick Leitman, is a United States district judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, nominated by Barack Obama and confirmed in 2014.
Matthew Falder
Matthew Falder, British geophysicist and Cambridge graduate, blackmailed 46 victims online as "Liz" and "666devil"; admitted 137 offences, jailed 32 years in 2018, reduced to 25 on appeal.
Matthew J. Kacsmaryk
Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the Northern District of Texas since 2019, appointed by President Donald Trump.
Matthew J. Maddox
Matthew James Maddox (born 1977) is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the District of Maryland since 2023, appointed by President Biden.
Matthew L. Garcia
Matthew L. Garcia, also known as Matthew Lane Garcia, is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the District of New Mexico since 2023.
Matthew Muller
Matthew Muller, disbarred Harvard-trained attorney and former Marine, kidnapped Denise Huskins from Vallejo, California in 2015; Vallejo police called it a hoax until his arrest. Serving 40-year federal, 31-year state, and additional sentences.
Matthew P. Brookman
Matthew P. Brookman, born 1968, is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the Southern District of Indiana since 2023, nominated by President Biden.
Matthew T. Schelp
Matthew Thomas Schelp, born 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri, is a United States district judge for the Eastern District of Missouri appointed by President Donald Trump.
Matthew Titone
Matthew J. Titone (born 1961) is the Surrogate judge of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, elected 2019 for a term to 2031; former Assembly District 61 Democrat, St. John's Law 1992, son of Court of Appeals Judge Vito Titone.
Matthew W. Brann
Matthew William Brann, born 1965 in Elmira, New York, is a United States district judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, appointed by Barack Obama and chief judge since 2021.
Matthew W. McFarland
Matthew Walden McFarland (born 1967) is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the Southern District of Ohio since 2019, appointed by President Donald Trump.
Matthew Whitaker
Matthew Whitaker, American lawyer and Acting U.S. Attorney General from November 7, 2018, after Jeff Sessions resigned; Trump named him under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, sparking Appointments Clause litigation that ultimately failed in court.