Law Dictionary Definitions

bear drive.See BEAR RAID. [Blacks Law 8th]

beak.BrE slang. A magistrate or justice of the peace.[Blacks Law 8th]

beadle (beed-<<schwa>>l).1.Hist. A court crier with duties similar to those of a constable. See NUNTIUS(3).2.Hist. Eccles. law. A minor parish officer who serves the vestry’s needs in various ways, including giving notice of the vestry’s meetings, executing its orders, and attending its inquests. 3. A macebearer at Oxford University or Cambridge University. — Also spelled…

BEA.abbr.BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. [Blacks Law 8th]

BCIA.abbr. BERNE CONVENTION IMPLEMENTATION ACT.[Blacks Law 8th]

See bad-conduct discharge under DISCHARGE.[Blacks Law 8th]

Bayh–Dole Act.Patents. A federal statute that permits the U.S. Government to take title to or require licensing of nongovernmental inventions made by small businesses and nonprofit organizations while participating in federally funded programs. • Under the Act, an entity funded by the federal government must timely disclose any invention made in the course of a…

  bay.Int’l law. An inlet of the sea, over which the coastal country exercises jurisdiction to enforce its environmental, immigration, and customs laws. [Cases: International Law  5. C.J.S. International Law §§ 14–20.] historic bay.A bay that, because of its shape, would not be considered a bay subject to the coastal country’s jurisdiction, except for that…

Baumes Law.A statute that provides for stricter criminal prosecution and penalties up to life imprisonment for an offender who has four convictions for felonies or certain misdemeanors. • The first Baumes Law, named for New York state Senator Caleb H. Baumes, was passed by the New York legislature in 1926. Cf. THREE-STRIKES LAW.[Blacks Law 8th]

battle of the forms.The conflict between the terms of standard forms exchanged between a buyer and a seller during contract negotiations. • In its original version, UCC § 2-207 attempted to resolve battles of the forms by abandoning the common-law requirement of mirror-image acceptance and providing that a definite expression of acceptance may create a…