An agent is a person authorized to act on behalf of another person. The party an agent is authorized to act for is known as the principal. A principal-agent relationship can either be intentionally created or created by implication through...
individual rights
alienable
Alienable means transferable.
An interest in property is alienable if it may be conveyed by one party to another. In general, all private property is alienable unless some contractual, common law, or statutory restriction...
anti-contact rule
The anti-contact rule, also known as rule 4.2 of professional conduct, is a rule prohibiting lawyers from discussing subject matter of any case they’re working on with someone the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter...
arraignment
An arraignment is the first step in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is brought in front of the court to hear the charges against them and enter a plea.
See, e.g. County of Riverside v. McLaughlin 500 U.S. 44 (1991...
bail
Bail is the money a defendant pays as a guarantee that they will show up in court at a later date. A failure to return triggers the bond obligation and allows the court to keep any money given as security. According to the American Bar...
bail bond
Bail bond is an agreement to pay the court if a criminal defendant fails to meet the terms of conditional release from custody. Many bail bonds are signed by the defendant and the defendant's sureties (e.g., a bondsman). Some bail bonds are...
bailment
A 'bailment' is defined as a non-ownership transfer of possession. Under English common law, the right to possess a thing is separate and distinct from owning the thing. Interestingly, as a result of this distinction, in some jurisdictions,...
bench trial
Bench trial refers to the type of trial that does not involve a jury but is conducted by the judge alone, in which the judge both decides the facts of the case and applies the law. The word bench in the law is in reference to the judge, so a...
BFOQ
A Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) can be defined as a legally authorized restriction granted to employers to refuse the hiring or a person based on their sex, religion, or national origin. 42 U.S. Code § 2000e-2 allows for an...
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights refers to the first ten Amendments to the Constitution, which set out individual rights and liberties. Though these rights originally only applied to the federal government, through the legal doctrine of incorporation, most...