Bifurcated trial means that the trial is conducted in two stages. A common division is to determine liability or guilt in the first stage and damages or penalties in the second. For example, in criminal proceedings, the guilt or innocence of...
criminal law and procedure
bill of attainder
A bill of attainder is a piece of legislation that declares a party is guilty of a crime. Bills of attainder allow the government to punish a party for a perceived crime without first going through the trial process.
In the...
bill of exceptions
Bill of exceptions is a formal written document in which a party objects to a judge's decision or relevant evidence at trial. A bill of exceptions should include the party's objections and their basis, signed by the judge and filed with the...
biological experiments
Generally, biological experiments are experiments conducted on people without their consent; however, they defined contextually based on what is occurring in the present situation. For instance, in Perez v. Sharp, the forced sterilization of...
Bivens action
Overview
A Bivens action generally refers to a lawsuit for damages when a federal officer who is acting in the color of federal authority allegedly violates the U.S. Constitution by federal officers acting.
Burden of ProofThe plaintiff in a...
blackmail
Blackmail or extortion, which can be used interchangeably, pursuant to the 1942 Illinois Supreme Court opinion in People v. Mahumed, is an unlawful act of one party such as intentionally threatening, accusing of crime, injuring the other...
blanket search warrant
A blanket search warrant is a broad authorization from a judge that allows the police to search multiple areas for evidence without specifying exactly what they are looking for and seize everything found.
The Fourth...
blood-alcohol content (BAC)
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is the level of alcohol (understood as ethanol) circulating in the bloodstream. For example, a BAC level of 0.20% means that a person’s bloodstream contains 0.20g/dL (milligrams per deciliter) of alcohol for every...
bond
A bond refers to an obligation to pay a specified amount of money.
In the field of business, a bond functions similar to a loan and is sold by entities seeking an inflow of cash now in exchange for the promise of future interest on...bondsman
A bondsman is a person who guarantees a bond. Bondsmen are most frequently seen in the context of bail bondsman for criminal defendants.
A bail bondsman is a person who provides bail bonds for people charged with crimes and...