Law Dictionary Definitions

breaking a close.See BREACH OF CLOSE. [Blacks Law 8th]

breaking a case. 1. The voicing by one appellate judge to another judge on the same panel of a tentative view on how a case should be decided. • These informal expressions assist the judges in ascertaining how close they are to agreement. 2. The solving of a case by the police.[Blacks Law 8th]

breaking,n. Criminal law. In the law of burglary, the act of entering a building without   permission. [Cases: Burglary  9(1). C.J.S. Burglary §§ 11–12, 14–16, 20.] “[T]o constitute a breaking at common law, there had to be the creation of a breach or opening; a mere trespass at law was insufficient. If the occupant of…

breakdown of the marriage.See IRRETRIEVABLE BREAKDOWN OF THE MARRIAGE. [Blacks Law 8th]

break a house.To violently and feloniously remove or sever any part of a house or its locks.[Blacks Law 8th]

breakage. 1. An allowance given by a manufacturer to a buyer for goods damaged during transit or storage. 2. Insignificant amounts of money retained by racetrack promoters from bets. • The retention of these small sums avoids the inconvenience of counting and paying out inconsequential winnings. [Cases: Gaming  9.][Blacks Law 8th]

break,vb.1. To violate or disobey (a law) <to break the law>.2. To nullify (a will) by court proceeding <Samson, the disinherited son, successfully broke the will>.3. To escape from (a place of confinement) without permission <break out of prison>.4. To open (a door, gate, etc.) and step through illegally <he broke the close>.[Blacks Law 8th]

breadth of a claim.Patents. The scope or extent to which a patent claim excludes others from infringing activity.[Blacks Law 8th]

bread-and-cheese ordeal.See ordeal of the morsel under ORDEAL.[Blacks Law 8th]

bread acts.Hist. Laws providing for the sustenance of persons kept in prison for debt. • These laws were formerly on the books in both England and the United States.[Blacks Law 8th]