Law, Crime & Punishment, BIL-CAV
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Law, Crime & Punishment Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Bilingual Education Act (BEA), U.S. legislation (January 2, 1968) that provided federal grants to school districts......
biometrics, measures of individuals’ unique physical characteristics or behavioral traits that are typically used......
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), U.S. legislation that was the first major amendment of the Federal......
Birmingham pub bombings, terrorist bomb attacks on two pubs in Birmingham, England, that were carried out on November......
Bishop v. Wood, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held (5–4) on June 10, 1976, that a municipal employee......
Black and Tan, name given to British recruits enrolled in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) from January 1920......
Black Hand, secret Serbian society of the early 20th century that used terrorist methods to promote the liberation......
Black Hole of Calcutta, scene of an incident on June 20, 1756, in which a number of Europeans were imprisoned in......
Black Hundreds, reactionary, antirevolutionary, and anti-Semitic groups formed in Russia during and after the Russian......
black market, trading in violation of publicly imposed regulations such as rationing laws, laws against certain......
Black Panther Party, African American revolutionary party, founded in 1966 in Oakland, California, by Huey P. Newton......
During the ”golden age” of piracy in the late 1600s and early 1700s, a pirate ship was one of the few places a......
Black September, breakaway militant faction of the Palestinian organization Fatah. The group was founded in 1971......
Black Sox Scandal, American baseball scandal centering on the charge that eight members of the Chicago White Sox......
Blackshirt, member of any of the armed squads of Italian Fascists under Benito Mussolini, who wore black shirts......
blood eagle, method of ritual execution employed by Viking cultures described in Norse literature. The ritual’s......
blood money, compensation paid by an offender (usually a murderer) or his kin group to the kin group of the victim.......
Bloods, street gang based in Los Angeles that is involved in drugs, theft, and murder, among other criminal activities.......
blue sky law, any of various U.S. state laws designed to regulate sales practices associated with securities (e.g.,......
blue-ribbon jury, a group, chosen from the citizenry of a district, that has special qualifications to try a complex......
Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, case in which the U.S.......
Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme......
Board of Education v. Allen, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 10, 1968, ruled (6–3) that a New York......
Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, case (1982) in which the U.S. Supreme......
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court......
Board of Regents v. Roth, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 1972, ruled (5–3) that nontenured educators......
Bob Jones University v. United States, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (8–1) on May 24, 1983,......
bobby, slang term for a member of London’s Metropolitan Police derived from the name of Sir Robert Peel, who established......
body snatching, the illicit removal of corpses from graves or morgues during the 18th and 19th centuries. Cadavers......
boiling, in the history of punishment, a method of execution commonly involving a large container of heated liquid......
Boko Haram, Islamic sectarian movement, founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf in northeastern Nigeria, that since 2009......
Boland Amendment, series of acts that were passed by the U.S. Congress as a means of preventing the aggressive......
Bollinger decisions, pair of cases addressing the issue of affirmative action in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled......
Bologna train station bombing of 1980, terrorist attack on the Bologna Centrale railway station in Bologna, Italy,......
University of Bologna, the oldest university in Europe and one of the oldest and most famous universities in the......
Bonanno crime family, New York City-based organized crime syndicate with roots dating back to the late 19th century......
bond, In law, a formal written agreement by which a person undertakes to perform a certain act (e.g., appearing......
Bonham’s Case, (1610), legal case decided by Sir Edward Coke, chief justice of England’s Court of Common Pleas,......
book banning, the practice of prohibiting or restricting the reading of certain books by the general public or......
boot camp, a correctional institution, usually in the United States, modeled after military basic training, where......
bootlegging, in U.S. history, illegal traffic in liquor in violation of legislative restrictions on its manufacture,......
borough-English, the English form of ultimogeniture, the system of undivided inheritance by which real property......
Borstal system, English reformatory system designed for youths between 16 and 21, named after an old convict prison......
Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, terrorist attack that took place a short distance from the finish line of the......
Boston Police Strike, (1919), strike of about 80 percent of Boston’s police force protesting the opposition to......
bottomry, a maritime contract (now almost obsolete) by which the owner of a ship borrows money for equipping or......
Boumediene v. Bush, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 12, 2008, held that the Military Commissions Act......
Bounty, English armed transport ship remembered for the mutiny of her crew on April 28, 1789, while she was under......
Bowers v. Hardwick, legal case, decided on June 30, 1986, in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld (5–4) a Georgia......
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5–4) on June 28, 2000, that the......
Bradwell v. State of Illinois, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on April 15, 1873, ruled (8–1) that the......
Brady Law, U.S. legislation, adopted in 1993, that imposed an interim five-day waiting period for the purchase......
branding, the permanent marking of livestock or goods using a distinctive design made by hot or superchilled metal,......
Brehon laws, ancient laws of Ireland. The text of these laws, written in the most archaic form of the Gaelic language,......
bribery, the act of promising, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive money or some other item of value with......
brief, in law, a document often in the form of a summary or abstract. The term is used primarily in common-law......
Battle of Brisbane, (November 26–27, 1942), two nights of rioting in Brisbane, the capital and chief city of Queensland,......
British North America Act, the act of Parliament of the United Kingdom by which in 1867 three British colonies......
Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (6–3) on July 1, 2021,......
broken windows theory, academic theory proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 that used broken......
Brown v. Board of Education, case in which, on May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously (9–0) that......
Brownsville Affair, (1906), racial incident that grew out of tensions between whites in Brownsville, Texas, U.S.,......
Buck v. Bell, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 2, 1927, upheld (8–1) the constitutionality of......
bucket shop, in Britain and the United States, a brokerage house, usually dealing in securities, grain, or cotton,......
Buckley v. Valeo, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 30, 1976, struck down provisions of the......
Bulgarian Horrors, atrocities committed by the forces of the Ottoman Empire in subduing the Bulgarian rebellion......
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), agency within the United States Department of Justice......
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), agency of the Indian government established in 1987 to devise uniform standards......
burgage, in Normandy, England, and Scotland, an ancient form of tenure that applied to property within the boundaries......
burglary, in criminal law, the breaking and entering of the premises of another with an intent to commit a felony......
Burlington Industries v. Ellerth, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 1998, ruled (7–2) that—under......
burning at the stake, a method of execution practiced in Babylonia and ancient Israel and later adopted in Europe......
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held (5–4) on June 30, 2014, that......
Bush v. Gore, legal case, decided on December 12, 2000, in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed......
bushranger, any of the bandits of the Australian bush, or outback, who harassed the settlers, miners, and Aborigines......
business law, the body of rules, whether by convention, agreement, or national or international legislation, governing......
bōryokudan, any of various Japanese criminal gangs, many of which combined in the 20th century into Mafia-like......
California Proposition 187, state ballot initiative that sought to deny access to social services, nonemergency......
Calvo Doctrine, a body of international rules regulating the jurisdiction of governments over aliens and the scope......
United States campaign-finance laws, in the United States, laws that regulate the amounts of money political candidates......
Canada Act, Canada’s constitution approved by the British Parliament on March 25, 1982, and proclaimed by Queen......
Canadian aboriginal reserves, system of reserves that serve as physical and spiritual homelands for many of the......
Canadian Rangers, organization within the Canadian Armed Forces created to provide a paramilitary presence in the......
Cannon v. University of Chicago, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held (6–3) on May 14, 1979, that Section......
canon law, body of laws made within certain Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, independent churches......
Code of Canon Law, official compilation of ecclesiastical law promulgated in 1917 and again, in revised form, in......
Cantwell v. Connecticut, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 20, 1940, ruled unconstitutional a Connecticut......
capital punishment, execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal......
Capital punishment is legal in some U.S. states and not legal in others. In some states it has been officially......
capitulary, ordinance, usually divided into articles (Latin: capitula), promulgated by the Carolingian sovereigns......
Carabiniere, one of the national police forces of Italy. Originally an elite military organization in the Savoyard......
Cardiff Giant, famous hoax perpetrated by George Hall (or Hull) of Binghamton, New York, U.S. A block of gypsum......
Carey v. Piphus, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 21, 1978, ruled (8–0) that public school officials......
Carlsbad Decrees, series of resolutions (Beschlüsse) issued by a conference of ministers from the major German......
carriage of goods, in law, the transportation of goods by land, sea, or air. The relevant law governs the rights,......
carrier’s lien, in law, the right to hold the consignee’s cargo until payment is made for transporting it. In common......
castle guard, in the European feudal tenure, an arrangement by which some tenants of the king or of a lesser lord......
casus belli, a Latin term describing a situation said to justify a state in initiating war. The United Nations......
Instruction of Catherine the Great, (Aug. 10 [July 30, old style], 1767), in Russian history, document prepared......
caveat emptor, (Latin: “let the buyer beware”), in the law of commercial transactions, principle that the buyer......