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blackletter law.One or more legal principles that are old, fundamental, and well settled. • The term refers to the law printed in books set in Gothic type, which is very bold and black. — Also termed hornbook law.[Blacks Law 8th]

black-leg labor.See SCAB.[Blacks Law 8th]

Black Hand.Hist. Any of several secret societies that were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. • Most of these organizations were composed of anarchists or separatists and engaged in terrorism. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a loosely knit Sicilian–Italian criminal organization called the Black Hand extorted money from Italian…

black economy.See SHADOW ECONOMY.[Blacks Law 8th]

black codes.(usu. cap.) Hist. 1.Antebellum state laws enacted to regulate slavery. 2. Laws enacted shortly after the Civil War in the ex-Confederate states to restrict the liberties of the newly freed slaves to ensure a supply of inexpensive agricultural labor and to maintain white supremacy. “Clearly, leaders of the old South who survived the war…

black cap.A square cap worn by English judges on certain state or solemn occasions. • The black cap was formerly worn by judges when handing down a death sentence.[Blacks Law 8th]

Black Book of the Admiralty.English law. A medieval code of maritime law containing admiralty laws, ordinances, and proceedings, decisions, and acts of the monarch, the Lord High Admiral, and the Court of Admiralty. • The Black Book is considered a definitive source for customary English maritime law. It also contains a copy of the Rules of…

Black Book of the Exchequer.Hist. A record book containing treaties, conventions, charters, papal bulls, and other English state documents. • It dates from the 13th century. — Also termed Liber Niger Parvus.[Blacks Law 8th]

Black Acts.Scots law. Statutes of the Scottish Parliament passed from 1535 to 1594 and recorded in a book printed in black letter.[Blacks Law 8th]

Black Act.Hist. An English statute (9 Geo. ch. 22) establishing the death penalty for the unlawful killing or maiming of animals. • The statute was passed in 1722 in the wake of crimes committed by persons with faces blackened or otherwise disguised. The statute was repealed in 1827. The classic study of this law is…