Law Dictionary Definitions

algorithm.Patents. A mathematical or logical process consisting of a series of steps, designed to solve a specific type of problem. • Algorithms were long considered abstract ideas and therefore unpatentable subject matter. But in 1998, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found valid a patent on financial software as “a practical application…

Alford plea. A guilty plea that a defendant enters as part of a plea bargain, without actually admitting  guilt.  •  This  plea  is  not  considered  compelled  within  the  language  of  the  Fifth Amendment  if  the  plea  represents  a  voluntary,  knowing,  and  intelligent  choice  between  the available options <the  defendant —  realizing  the  strength  of  the …

alfet  (al-fet).Hist.  A  cauldron  filled  with  boiling  water,  used  to  scald  the  arm  of  a  person undergoing an ordeal. See ordeal by water (2) under ORDEAL. [Blacks Law 8th]

alez adeu (ah-lay ah-duu). See ADEU.[Blacks Law 8th]  

alevosia.Spanish  law.  MALICE.  See  Pico  v.  United  States,  228  U.S.  225,  33  S.Ct.  482 (1913). [Blacks Law 8th]

ale silver.Hist. A rent or tribute  paid annually to the lord  mayor of  London by  persons who sold ale within the city. [Blacks Law 8th]

aler sans jour.See ALLER SANS JOUR. [Blacks Law 8th]

aler a Dieu.See ALLER A DIEU. [Blacks Law 8th]

alegal,adj. Outside the sphere of law; not classifiable as being legal or illegal <the law often treats  the  promises  of  unmarried  cohabitants  as  contractual  words  rather  than  alegal  words  of commitment>. — alegality,n. [Blacks Law 8th]

aleatory promise.See PROMISE. [Blacks Law 8th]