Criminal Legal Term of the Week
Posted on October 22nd, 2007 by Administrator
I am sure most people have seen movies involving police detectives where the detective shows up to a crime scene, and when the detective notices a similar pattern from a previous crime scene he will say something to the effect of:
“Hey Johnny, this seems to part of this guy’s MO.”
Black’s Law Dictionary defines modus operandi (”MO”) as, “a method of operating or a manner of procedure, esp., a pattern of criminal behavior so distinctive that investigators attribute it to the work of the same person.” Black’s Law Dictionary Second Pocket Edition, (West Group 2001).
Often times if there are similarities on homicides or burglaries law enforcement and the prosecuting attorney will use those similarities to tie the same defendant to all of the incidents.
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