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bad Invalid or void; legally unsound <bad service of process> <bad law>.

bad actor An actor who is shown or perceived to have engaged in illegal, impermissible, or unconscionable conduct. A presumption that a person is a bad actor may be created by an adverse-inference instruction. 2. Archaic. A male plaintiff. 3. Hist. An advocate or pleader; one who acted for another in legal matters. Cf. REUS (1). 4. Roman law. (ital.) A person who sues; a claimant. Also termed (in sense 4) petitor. PI. (in sense 4) actores.

bad actor- See ACTOR (1).

bad character A person's propensity for or tendency toward unlawful or immoral behavior. _ In limited cir-cumstances, proof of bad character may be introduced into evidence to discredit a witness. Fed. R. Evid. 608, 609. See character evidence under EVIDENCE.

bad check See CHECK.

bad check- A check that is not honored because the account either contains insufficient funds or does not exist. Also termed hot check; worthless check; rubber check; bounced check; cold check; bogus check; false check; dry check.

bad debt See DEBT.

bad debt- A debt that is uncollectible and that may be deductible for tax purposes.

bad faith 1. Dishonesty of belief or purpose <the lawyer filed the pleading in bad faith>. Also termed mala fides (mal-a-fI-deez). "A complete catalogue of types of bad faith is impossible, but the following types are among those which have been recognized in judicial decisions: evaSion of the spirit of the bargain. lack of diligence and slacking off, Willful rendering of imperfect performance, abuse of a power to specify terms, and interference with or failure to cooperate in the other party's performance." Restatement (Second) of Con· tracts § 205 emt. d (1979). 2. Insurance. An insurance company's unreasonable and unfounded (though not necessarily fraudulent) refusal to provide coverage in violation of the duties of good faith and fair dealing owed to an insured .o Bad faith often involves an insurer's failure to pay the insured's claim or a claim brought by a third party. 3. Insurance. An insured's claim against an insurance company for an unreasonable and unfounded refusal to provide coverage. Cf. GOOD FAITH. - bad-faith, adj.

bad motive See MOTIVE.

bad title See TITLE (2).

bad-boy disqualification Securities. An issuer's disqual-ification from certain SEC-registration exemptions as a result of the issuer's securities-law violations.

bad-boy provision Securities. A statutory or regulatory clause in a blue-sky law stating that certain persons, because of their past conduct, are not entitled to any type of exemption from registering their securities. Such clauses typically prohibit issuers, officers, direc-tors, control persons, or broker-dealers from being involved in a limited offering if they have been the subject of an adverse proceeding concerning securi-ties, commodities, or postal fraud.

bad-conduct discharge See DISCHARGE (8).

bad-conduct discharge- A punitive discharge that a court-martial can give a member of the military, usu. as punishment for repeated minor offenses. - Abbr. BCD.

bad-debt loss ratio The proportion of a business's uncol-lectible debt to a business's total receivables.

bad-debt reserve See RESERVE.

bad-debt reserve A reserve to cover losses on uncollectible accounts receivable.

bad-faith enforcement 1. The filing of an infringement action by a patentee who knows that the accused product or process does not infringe or that the patent is invalid or unenforceable. 2. In an infringement action, a counterclaim alleging that at the time of filing suit, the patentee knew that the accused product or process did not infringe or that the patent was invalid or unenforceable .o A coun-terclaim for bad-faith enforcement arises under § 2 of the Sherman Act and under the common law of unfair competition. Cf. PATENT-MISUSE DOCTRINE.

bad-faith filing The act of submitting a bankruptcy petition that is inconsistent with the purposes of the Bankruptcy Code or is an abuse of the bankruptcy system (that is, by not being filed in good faith) .o A court may dismiss a bankruptcy case if it finds that the petition was filed in bad faith.

badge of fraud A circumstance generally consid-ered by courts as an indicator that a party to a trans-action intended to hinder or defraud the other party, such as a transfer in anticipation of litigation, a trans-action outside the usual course of business, or a false statement. See FRAUD.

badge of slaver 1. Strictly, a legal disability suffered by a slave, such as the inability to vote or to own property. 2. Broadly, any act of racial discrimina-tion - public or private - that Congress can prohibit under the 13th Amendment.

badger game A scheme to extort money or some other benefit by arranging to catch someone in a com-promising position and then threatening to make that person's behavior public. 'The 'badger game' is a blackmailing trick, usually in the form of enticing a man into a compromising position with a woman whose real or pretended husband comes upon the scene and demands payment under threat of prosecution or exposure." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 451 (3d ed. 1982).

bad-man theory The jurisprudential doctrine or belief that a bad person's view of the law represents the best test of what the law actually is because that person will carefully calculate precisely what the rules allow and will operate up to the rules' limits. - Ihis theory was first expounded by Oliver Wendell Holmes in his essay The Path of the Law, 10 Harv. 1. Rev. 457 (1897). In the essay, Holmes maintained that a society's legal is defined by predicting how the law will affect a person, as opposed to considering the ethics or morals supposedly underlying the law. Under Holmes's theory, the prediction is best made by viewing the law as would a "bad man" who is unconcerned with morals. Such a person is not concerned with acting morally or in accord with a grand philosophical scheme. Rather, that person is concerned with whether and to what degree certain acts will incur punishment by the public force of the law. See LEGAL REALISM. Also termed predic-tion theory.

bads Slang. In economics, the counterpart of "goods," characterized by a negative correlation between the amount consumed and the consumer's wealth; speciL the kinds of products that tend to be bought only by poor people. "Some products are termed 'bads' because consumption of the product tends to decrease with increasing wealth. Spam is one example of a bad, while beef tenderloin is generally thought to be a good." Donald S. Chisum et aI., Principles of Patent Law 54 (1998).

baga (bag-a). [Law Latin] Hist. A bag or purse, esp. one in which original writs were kept by the Chancery.

bagman A person who collects and dis-tributes illegally obtained money; esp., an intermediary who collects a bribe for a public official

bail 1. A security such as cash or a bond; esp., security required by a court for the release of a prisoner who must appear in court at a future time <bail is set at $500>. Cf RECOGNIZANCE.

bail- 1. To obtain the release of (oneself or another) by providing security for a future appearance in court <his parents bailed him out of jail>. 2. To release (a person) after receiving such security <the court bailed the prisoner>. 3. To place (personal property) in someone else's charge or trust <bail the goods with the ware-house>.

bail above See bail to the action.

bail above- See bail to the action under BAIL (4).

bail absolute See BAIL (1).

bail absolute- A fiduciary bond conditioning a surety's liability on the failure of an estate administrator, executor, or guardian to properly account for estate funds. See fiduciary bond under BOND (2).

bail below See bail to the sheriff.

bail below- See bail to the sheriff under BAIL (4).

bail bond See BOND (2).

bail bond- A bond given to a court by a criminal defendant's surety to guarantee that the defendant will duly appear in court in the future and, if the defendant is jailed, to obtain the defendant's release from confinement. The effect of the release on bail bond is to transfer custody of the defendant from the officers of the law to the custody of the surety on the bail bond, whose undertaking is to redeliver the defendant to legal custody at the time and place appointed in the bond. Also termed appearance bond; recognizance. See BAIL.

bail bondsman See BAILER (1).

bail Clause The clause in the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting excessive bail. This clause was derived from similar language in England's Bill of Rights (1689).

bail commissioner 1. An adjudicator or official empow-ered to hold an emergency hearing to set bail when a hearing cannot be held during regular court hours . A bail commissioner does not review other judge's bail decisions. 2. An officer appointed to take bail bonds. -Also termed commissioner of bail. 3. Hist. A court-appointed officer who made a written acknowledgement of bail in civil cases.

bail commissioner- See BAIL COMMISSIONER.

bail common A fictitious surety filed by a defen-dant in a (usu. minor) civil action. - Also termed common bail; straw bail. "[T]he Common Pleas made a distinction between common and special bail, allowing the former, in cases where the defendant voluntarily appeared to the process, or where the damage expressed in it appeared to be but of a trifling amount, and requiring the latter only, when the plaintiff's demand or the damage he had sustained appeared to be something conSiderable. In time therefore, in common cases, every defendant took the liberty of offering John Doe and Richard Roe, for his bail ..." I George Crompton, Practice Common-Placed: Rules and Cases of Practice in the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas Ixi (3d ed. 1787).

bail common- See BAIL (4).

bail Court See BAIL COURT.

Bail Court An ancillary court of Queen's Bench responsible for ensuring that bail sureties were worth the sums pledged (i.e., hearing justifications) and for handling other procedural matters .o The court was established in 1830 and abolished in 1854. - Also termed Practice Court.

bail dock A small compartment in a courtroom used to hold a criminal defendant during trial. - Often short-ened to dock.- Also spelled bale dock. See DOCK (3).

bail emphyteotique A renewable lease for a term of years that the lessee may prolong indefinitely.

bail emphytiotique See BAIL (6).

bail in error Security given by a defendant who intends to bring a writ of error on a judgment and desires a stay of execution in the meantime. See appeal bond, supersedeas bond under BOND (2).

bail revocation The court's cancellation of bail previously granted to a criminal defendant.

bail to the action A surety for a civil defendant arrested by a mesne process (Le., a process issued during the lawsuit) .o If the defendant lost the lawsuit, the bail to the action was bound either to pay the judgment or to surrender the defendant into custody. - Also termed bail above; special bail. Cf. bail to the sheriff.

bail to the action- See BAIL (4).

bail to the sheriff A person who pledged to the sheriff that a defendant served with process during a civil action would appear on the writ's return day. -Also termed bail below. Cf. bail to the action. "This kind of bail is called bail to the sheriff, because given to that officer, and for his security; and bail below, because subordinate or preliminary to bail to the action or speCial bail, which is termed bail above." 1 Alexander M. Burrill, A Law Dictionary and Glossary 174 (2d ed. 1867).

bail to the sheriff- See BAIL (4).

bailable (Of an offense or person) eligible for bail.

bailable offense A criminal charge for which a defendant may be released from custody after providing proper security <misdemeanor theft is a bailable offense>.

bailable offense See OFFENSE (1).

bailable process A process instructing an officer to take bail after arresting a defendant. The defendant s discharge is required by law after the tender of suitable security.

bailable process See PROCESS.

bail-a-rente A lease in perpetuity.

bail-a-rente- See BAIL (6).

bailee A person who receives personal property from another, and has possession of but not title to the property . A bailee is responsible for keeping the property safe until it is returned to the owner. See BAILMENT.

bailee policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

bailee policy A floating policy that covers goods in a bailees possession but does not particularly describe the covered goods.

bail-enforcement agent See BOUNTY HUNTER.

bail-enforcement agent- See BOUNTY HUNTER.

bailer 1. One who provides bail as a surety for a criminaefenl ddant's release. - Also spelled bailor. Also termed bail bondsman; bailsman. 2. BAILOR (1).

bailiff 1. A court officer who maintains order during court proceedings . In many courts today, the bailiff also acts as crier, among other responsibili-ties. See CRIER. Also termed (in England and Wales) usher; (in Scotland) macer. 2. A sheriff's officer who executes writs and serves processes.

bailiff-errant- A bailiff appointed by the sheriff to deliver writs and other process within a county. Cf. bailiffs of franchises.

bailiffs of franchises Bailiffs who executed writs and performed other duties in privileged districts that were outside the Crown's (and therefore the sheriffs) jurisdiction. Cf. bailiffs-errartt. "Bailiffs of Franchises are those who are appointed by every Lord within his Uberty, to do such Offices therein, as the Bailiff Erran t does at large in the County." Thomas Blount, Noma-Lexicon: A Law-Dictionary (1670).

bailiffs of hundreds- Bailiffs appointed by a sheriff to colldect fines, summon juries, attend court sessions, and execute writsand process in the county istrict known as a hundred. See HUNDRED

bailiffs of manors Persons appointed to super-intend the estates of the nobility . These bailiffs col-lected fines andrents, inspected buildings, and took account of waste, spoils, and misdemeanors in the forests and demesne lands.

bailivia See BAILIWICK.

bailiwick (bay-la-wik). The office, jurisdiction, or district of a bailiff; esp., a bailiffs territorial jurisdiction. - Also termed bailivia; baliva; balliva. Cf. constablewick. "In the early days a village was called a 'wick.' Each village had a bailiff who was its peace officer. His authority was limited to the territory of the wick. A bailiff was popularly referred to as a 'bailie,' and before long a bailie's wick was expressed as his 'bailiwick.' And in time this word came to be used to indicate the special territory over which a peace officer exercises his authority as such. Although it may be changed by statute, the normal situation is that the bailiwick of a policeman is his city, the bailiwick of a sheriff is his county and the bailiwick of a state officer, such as a member of the Highway Patrol, is the state." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 1096 (3d ed. 1982).

bail-jumping The criminal offense of failing to appear in court after having been released on bail. See Model Penal Code § 242.8. See jUMP BAIL. -- bail-jumper, n.

bailment 1. A delivery of personal property by one person (the bailor) to another (the bailee) who holds the property for a certain purpose, usu. under an express or implied-in-fact contract. - Unlike a sale or gift of personal property, a bailment involves a change in pos-session but not in title. Cf. PAWN. "The customary definition of a bailment considers the transaction as arising out of contract. Thus Justice Story defines a bailment as 'a delivery of a thing in trust for some special object or purpose, and upon a contract express or implied, to conform to the object or purpose of the trust' Uoseph Story, Bailments 5 (9th ed. 1878)]. There has, however, been a vigorous dissent to this insistence on the contractual element in bailments. Professor Williston defines bailments broadly 'as the rightful possession of goods by one who is not the owner' [4 Samuel Williston, Law of Contracts 2888 (rev. ed. 1936)] .... It is obvious that the restricted definition of a bailment as a delivery of goods on a contract cannot stand the test of the actual cases. The broader definition of Professor Williston is pref-erable." Ray Andrews Brown, The Law of Personal Property § 73, at 252,254 (2d ed. 1955). "Although a bailment is ordinarily created by the agreement of the parties, resulting in a consensual delivery and accep-tance of the property, such a relationship may also result from the actions and conduct of the parties in dealing with the property in question. A bailment relationship can be implied by law whenever the personal property of one person is acquired by another and held under circum-stances in which principles of justice require the recipient to keep the property safely and return it to the owner." SA Am. Jur. 2d Bailment § 1 (1997).

bailment for hire A bailment for which the bailee is compensated, as when one leaves a car with a parking attendant. Also termed lucrative bailment. Cf. bailment for mutual benefit.

bailment for mutual benefit A bailment for which the bailee is compensated and from which the bailor receives some additional benefit, as when one leaves a car with a parking attendant who will also wash the car while it is parked. Cf. bailment for hire.

bailment for sale A bailment in which the bailee agrees to sell the goods on behalf of the bailor; a consign-ment.

bailment for sole benefit of bailor See gratuitous bailment.

bailor (bay-lor or bay-lar). 1. A person who delivers personal property to another as a bailment. Also spelled bailer. 2. BAILER (1).

bailout 1. A rescue of an entity, usu. a corporation or an industry, from financial trouble. 2. An attempt by a business to receive favorable tax treatment of its profits, as by withdrawing profits at capital-gain rates rather than distributing stock dividends that would be taxed at higher ordinary-income rates.

bailout stock See STOCK.

bailout stock Nontaxable preferred stock issued to stockholders as a dividend. Bailout stock is issued to gain favorable tax rates by distributing corporate earnings at capital gains rates rather than by distributing dividends at ordinary income rates. This practice is now prohibited by the Internal Revenue Code. IRC (26 USCA) § 306.

bailpiece 1. A document recording the nature of the bail granted to a defendant in a civil action; specif., a surety issued to attest the act of offering bail 2. More modernly, a warrant issued to a surety upon which the surety may arrest the person bailed by him. The bail-piece was filed with the court and usu. was Signed by the defendant's sureties. See BAIL (2); RECOGNIZANCE. Sometimes written bail piece. Cf. EXONERETUR.

bail-point scale A system for determining a criminal defendant's eligibility for bail, whereby the defendant either will be released on personal recognizance or will have a bail amount set according to the total number of points given, based on the defendant's background and behavior.

bailsman See BAILER (1).

bairn's part- See LEGITIM.

bait advertising See BAIT AND SWITCH.

bait and switch 1. A sales practice whereby a merchant advertises a low-priced product to lure cus-tomers into the store only to induce them to buy a higher-priced product. o Most states prohibit the bait and switch when the original product is not actually available as advertised. Cf. LOSS LEADER. Also termed bait advertising. Antitrust 2. The unethical practice of offering im attractive rate or premium to induce a person to apply for a loan or contract, with approval contingent on some condition, and then telling the person that the offered rate is not available but that a higher one can be substituted.

Baker v. Selden doctrine See MERGER DOCTRINE (1).

balance 1. To compute the difference between the debits and credits of (an account) <the accoun-tant balanced the company's books>. 2. To equalize in number, force, or effect; to bring into proportion <the company tried to balance the ratio of mid-level managers to assembly-line workers>. 3. To measure competing interests and offset them appropriately <the judge balanced the equities before granting the motion>. - balance, n.

balance billing A healthcare provider's practice of requiring a patient or other responsible party to pay any charges remaining after insurance and other payments and allowances have been applied to the total amount due for the provider's services.

balance of convenience A balancing test that courts use to decide whether to issue a preliminary injunc-tion stopping the defendant's allegedly infringing or unfair practices, weighing the benefit to the plaintiff and the public against the burden on the defendant. -Also termed balance of hardship.

balance of power A relative equality of force between countries or groups of countries, as a result of which peace is encouraged because no country or group is in a position to predominate.

balance of probability See PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE.

balance of sentence suspended A sentencing dis-position in which a criminal defendant is sentenced to jail but is credited with the time already served before sentencing, resulting in a suspension of the remaining sentence and release of the defendant from custody. Cf. SENTENCED TO TIME SERVED.

balance sheet A statement of an entity's current financial position, disclosing the value of the entity's assets, liabilities, and owners' equity. Also termed statement of financial condition; statement of condi-tion; statement of financial position. Cf. INCOME STATE-MENT.

balanced budget See BUDGET.

balanced economy See ECONOMY