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bote 1. A compensation or profit; esp., an allowance of wood; ESTOVERS (1). Also spelled bot; boot.

boteless (boht-Ias), 1. Of or relating to an offense that cannot be expiated or otherwise remedied by the payment of a fine, the offender being required to suffer loss ofliberty or life. Boteless offenses appeared in Anglo-Saxon Britain about A.D. 700. They appear to have involved treason or violence against the king. 2. Without relief or remedy; without the privilege of making satisfaction for a crime by pecuniary payment. The modern word bootless is derived from this term. Cf. BOTE (2). "In the laws of lne it appeared possible, in the discretion of the kind, to put certain offenders to death, rather than let them save themselves by paying a money fine. This involved a step in the modern direction, as far as criminal law is concerned. The 'boteless' offense, that is, the offense which can not be fully expiated by the payment of a money fine so that the gUilty person must suffer loss of liberty or life is so familiar to us that we take it as a matter of course; it seems, however, to have first appeared in Anglo Saxon Britain about the year A.D. 700. In general, these 'bote less' offenses seem to have appeared in connection with matter that we would say now involved treason or Violence offered 210 to the king." Charles Herman Kinnane, A First Book on Anglo·American Law 216-17 (2d ed. 1952).

bothagium (bah-thay-jee-am). Customary dues paid to a lord for placing a booth in a fair or market. Also termed bard-halfpenny; boothage.

botiler of the king An officer who provided the king's wines. By virtue of office, the botiler could choose two casks from every wine-laden ship. The modern word butler is derived from botiler.

bottomage bond See bottomry bond under BOND (2).

bottom-hole agreement A support agree-ment in which the contributing party agrees to make a cash contribution to the drilling party in exchange for geological or drilling information if the well is drilled to the agreed depth. See SUPPORT AGREEMENT.

bottomland Low-lying land, often located in a river's floodplain.

bottomry A contract by which a ship-owner pledges the ship as security for a loan to finance a voyage (as to equip or repair the ship), the lender losing the money if the ship is lost during the voyage. The term refers to the idea that the shipowner pledges the ship's bottom, or keel. Cf. RESPOKDEKTIA.

bottomry bond A contract for the loan of money on a ship, usu. at extraordinary interest, for maritime risks encountered during a certain period or for a certain voyage . The loan can be enforced only if the vessel survives the voyage. Also termed bot-tom age bond. Cf. respondentia bond."A bottomry bond, strictly speaking, is a mortgage or pledge of a ship by the owner or agent, to secure the repayment of money lent for the use of the ship; and the conditions of it are, that if the ship is lost, the lender loses his money; but if it arrives, then, not only the ship itself is liable, but also the person of the borrower." John Indermaur, Principles of the Common Law 169 (Edmund H. Bennett ed., 1 st Am. ed. 1878). "[T]he bottomry bond ... is a sort of mortgage on a ship, entered into for the purpose of raising money in case of necessity in a foreign port. The advance of communica· tions has caused bottomry and respondentia bonds to pass virtually out of use." Grant Gilmore & Charles L. Black Jr., The Law of Admiralty § 1·10, at 25 n.85 (2d ed. 1975).

bottomry bond- See BOND (2).

bought and sold notes Two memoranda prepared by a broker to record the sale of a note.The broker sends the bought note to the purchaser, and sends the sold note to the seller.

bought note See NOTE (1).

boulevard rule The principle that the driver of a vehicle approaching a highway from a smaller road must stop and yield the right-of-way to all highway traffic.

boulwarism A bargaining tactic in which an employer researches the probable outcome of collective bargaining and uses the information to make a firm settlement ofter to a union on a takeitor Ieaveit basis, so that there is no real negotiation. Boulwar-ism is now considered to be an unfair labor practice by the National Labor Relations Board. The practice takes its name from Lemuel Boulware, vice president for employee relations at General Electric Company, who used the technique during the mid-20th century.

bounced check See bad check under CHECK.

bounced check- See bad check.

bound 1. Constrained by a contractual or other obligation <they are bound to make the payments by the first of each month>. 2. (Of a court) constrained to follow a precedent <bound by a Supreme Court decision>.

bound- 1. BOUNDARY <metes and bounds>. 2. A limitation or restriction on action <within the bounds of the law>.

bound bailiff A deputy sheriff placed under bond to ensure the faithful performance of assigned duties. Also termed bumbailiff "The sheriff being answerable for the misdemesnors of these bailiffs, they are therefore usually bound in a bond for the due execution of their office, and thence are called bound-bailiffs; which the common people have corrupted into a much more homely appellation [Le., bumbailiff]." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 334 (1765

bound bailiff- See BAILIFF.

bound, To delineate a property boundary <property bounded by the creek>. Cf. BIND.

boundary 1. A natural or artificial separation that delineates the confines of real property <the creek serves as a boundary between the two properties>. See METES AND BOUNDS. The object of all rules for the establishment of boundaries is to ascertain the actual location ofthe boundary as made at the time. The important and controlling consideration, where there is a conflict as to a boundary, is the parties' intention, whether express or shown by surrounding cir-cumstances.." 11 C.J.S. Boundaries § 3 (1995).

boundary by acquiescence See agreed boundary under BOUNDARY.

boundary by agreement See agreed boundary under BOUNDARY.

boundary traffic The movement of persons or goods across an international boundary.

bounded tree A tree that marks a corner of a property's boundary.

bounder A visible mark that indicates a territorial limit in a land survey.

bounty 1. A premium or benefit offered or given, esp. by a government, to induce someone to take action or perform a service <a bounty for the killing of dan-gerous animals>. Cf. REWARD. 2. A gift, esp. in a will; generosity in giving <the court will distribute the testa-tor's bounty equally>. 3. The portion of a salvage award exceeding what the salvor would be entitled to on the basis of quantum meruit. Also termed gratuity; bonus.

bounty hunter A person who for a fee pursues someone charged with or suspected of a crime; esp., a person hired by a bail-bond company to find and arrest a criminal defendant who has breached the bond agree-ment by failing to appear in court as ordered. Also termed bail-enforcement agent.

bounty land A portion of public land given or donated as a reward, esp. for military service. See MILITARY BOUNTY LAND.

bounty land See LAND.

bounty-land warrant A state or federal government issued certificate affirming a veteran's eligibility to apply for ownership of a certain amount of public land . A veteran had to apply for a bounty-land warrant; it was not automatically granted. When the application was approved, the veteran received notice that the warrant had been issued in the veteran's name and was on file in the General Land Office. The veteran could then sell or otherwise transfer the bounty-land warrant to anyone, even a nonveteran. The warrant holder acquired the right to redeem the warrant and apply for a land patent. The last statute authorizing the issue of bounty-land warrants was enacted in 1894, and the last warrants were issued in 1906.

bourse An exchange; a stock exchange. Also termed bourse de commerce.

boutique (boo-teek). A small specialty business; esp., a small law firm specializing in one particular aspect oflaw practice <a tax boutique>.

bovata terrae (boh-vay-ta ter-ee). [Law Latin]. See OXGANG.

bow-bearer An officer responsible for apprehend-ing trespassers and poachers in the king's forest.

box To file a paper with a court of law.

box day One of the vacation days formerly appointed for filing papers in the Court of Session.

box-top license See shrink-wrap license under LICENSE.

boycott 1. An action deSigned to achieve the social or economic isolation of an adversary . The term derives from Captain Charles C. Boycott, an English landowner in famine-plagued Ireland of the 1870s; because of his ruthless treatment ofIrish tenant farmers, the Irish Land League ostracized him. 2. A concerted refusal to do business with a party to express disapproval of that party's practices. 3. A refusal to deal in one transaction in an effort to obtain terms desired in a second transaction .o Under the Sherman Antitrust Act, even peaceful persuasion of a person to refrain from dealing with another can amount to a boycott. See 15 USCA §§ 1-7. Cf. PICKETING; STRIKE. boycott, vb.

Boykin Act A statute, passed after World War II, that extended the U.S. patenting deadlines for citizens of former enemy nations. - A similar measure, the Nolan Act, was passed after World War I.

Boyle defense See GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR DEFENSE.

bp See BASIS POINT.

braccry 1. The offense of selling pretended rights or title to land. This practice was outlawed by statute of 32 Hen. 8, ch. 9. 2. EMBRACERY.

bracket creep The process by which inflation or increased income pushes individuals into higher tax brackets.

bracket system A system for collecting a sales tax based on an index providing for a graduated payment depending on the purchase price of the item, the purpose being fourfold: (1) to avoid having the seller collect a tax less than one cent; (2) to avoid requiring the state to figure the exact amount of tax on each sale; (3) to allow the seller to have a ready means for fixing the tax to be collected; and (4) to allow the state to collect about the right amount of tax.This system may be provided for either by statute or by administrative regulation.

Bracton The common title of one of the earliest books of English law, De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae (ca. 1250). - Henry of Bratton (also known as Bracton), a judge of the Court of King's Bench and of Assize, is credited with writing the work, though he may have merely revised an earlier version. "Bracton's book is the crown and flower of English medieval jurisprudence .... Romanesque in form, English in sub-stance ~ this perhaps is the best brief phrase that we can find for the outcome of his labours; but yet it is not very good. He had at his command and had diligently studied various parts of the Corpus luris Civilis, of the Decretum, and the Decretals, and he levied contributions from the canonist Tancred .... Bracton's debt and therefore our debt to the civilians is inestimably great. But for them. his book would have been impossible; but for them ... we should have missed not only the splendid plan. the orderly arrangement, the keen dilemmas, but also the sacerdotal spirit of the work. On the other hand, the main matter of his treatise is genuine English law laboriously collected out of the plea rolls of the king's court .... [Hlis endeavor is to state the practice, the best and most approved practice, of the king's court, and of any desire to romanize the law we must absolutely acquit him." 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I 206-09 (2d ed. 1898).

brady act A federal law establishing a national system for quickly checking the background of a prospective handgun purchaser.The formal name of the law is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The U.S. Supreme Court held unconstitutional the law's interim provision, which required chief state law-enforcement officers (usu. sheriffs) to conduct background checks until the national system was in place.The act is named for James Brady, who, as a member of President Ronald Reagan's staff, was wounded by gunfire during an attempted presidential assassination in 1981. 18 USCA §§ 921-930. Also termed (informally) Brady Bill.

Brady material Criminal procedure. Information or evidence that is favorable to a criminal defendant's case and that the The prosecution has a duty to disclose. he prosecution's withholding of such information violates the defendant's due-process rights. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194 (1963). See exculpatory evidence under EVIDENCE. Cf. JENCKS MATERIAL.

Brady motion A criminal defendant's request that a court order the prosecution to turn over evidence favorable to the defendant when the evidence is relevant to the defendant's guilt or punishment. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S 83 S.Ct. 1194 (1963). See BRADY MATERIAL.

brain death See DEATH.

brain death- The bodily condition of showing no response to external stimuli, no spontaneous movements, no breathing, no reflexes, and a flat reading (usu. for a full day) on a machine that measures the brain's electrical activity. In 1971, Kansas became the first state to enact a statutory definition of the term. Before that, heart transplants raised the question of when - and whether - death had occurred. Early cases dealing with this problem include a tort case (wrongful death), Tucker v. Lower, No. 2831 (Richmond, Va., L. & Eq. Ct., May 23,1972) (jury accepted the defendants' definition of brain death); a criminal case (vehicular homicide), People v. Flores, No. 20190 (Sonoma Co. Mun. Ct. Dec. 19, 1973), No. N746-C (Sonoma Co. Super. Ct. July 23, 1974) (defendant acquitted because no statute defined brain death); and a criminal case (murder), People v. Lyons, IS Crim. L. Rep. 2240, No. 56072 (Alameda Co. Super. Ct. May 21, 1974) (court accepted prosecutor's definition of brain death and convicted defendant). - Also termed legal death.

brake See DUKE OF EXETERS DAUGHTER.

branch 1. An offshoot, lateral extension, or division of an institution <the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government>. 2. A line of familial descent stemming from a common ancestor <the Taylor branch of the Bradshaw family>. Also termed stock. 3. A license held by a ship's pilot. See branch pilot under PILOT.

branch pilot See PILOT.

branch pilot A pilot, esp. one who is trained and licensed to navigate rivers and their tributaries. The term originated in England when pilots were licensed to navigate the River Thames and its tributaries.Also termed bar pilot. See TRINITY HOUSE.

brand A name or symbol used by a seller or manufacturer to identify goods or services and to dis-tinguish them from competitors' goods or services; the term used colloquially in business and industry to refer to a corporate or product name, a business image, or a mark, regardless of whether it may legally qualify as a trademark. o Branding is an ancient practice, evidenced by individual names and marks found on bricks, pots, etc. In the Middle Ages, guilds granted their members the right to use a guild-identifying symbol as a mark of quality and for legal protection. Also termed brand name. Cf. TRADEMARK; TRADENAME.

brand architecture The strategic analysis and development of optimal relationships among the multiple levels of a company and its brands, products, features, technology, or ingredient names.

brand name 1. See BRAND. 2. See TRADENAME.

Brandeis brief (bran-dIs).A brief, usu. an appellate brief, that makes use of social and economic studies in addition to legal principles and citations . The brief is named after Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, who as an advocate filed the most famous such brief in Muller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412, 28 S.Ct. 324 (1908), in which he persuaded the Court to uphold a statute setting a maximum ten-hour workday for women.

Brandeis brief- See BRANDEIS BRIEF.

Brandeis rules See ASHWANDER RULES.

branding 1. The act of marking cattle with a hot iron to identify their owner. 2. Formerly, the punishment of marking an offender with a hot iron.

branks An instrument used to punish scolds, consisting of an iron framework that sur-rounded the head and entered the mouth to keep the offender's tongue depressed. Also termed scolding bridle. See SCOLD. Cf. CASTIGATORY.

brassage (bras-ij). A government charge for the actual cost of coining metals . Any profit is termed seigniorage. See SEIGNIORAGE (2).

brawl 1. A noisy quarrel or fight. 2. The offense of engaging in such a quarrel or fight . In most jurisdictions, the offense is a statutory civil misdemeanor. 3. Hist. Eccles. law. The offense of disturbing the peace of a consecrated building or area; specif., a disturbance, such as arguing, within the churchyard or church . Until 1860, offenders faced trial in ecclesiastical courts. - Also termed brawling. - brawl, vb.

breach A violation or infraction of a law or obligation <breach of warranty> <breach of duty>. -breach, vb.

breach of arrest A military offense committed by an officer who, being under arrest in quarters, leaves those quarters without a superior officer's authorization. See arrest in quarters under ARREST.

breach of close The unlawful or unauthorized entry on another person's land; a common-law trespass. Also termed breaking a close. See CLOSE (1).

breach of contract Violation of a contractual obligation by failing to perform one's own promise, by repudiating it, or by interfering with another party's performance."A breach may be one by non'performance, or by repudiation, or by both. Every breach gives rise to a claim for damages, and may give rise to other remedies. Even if the injured party sustains no pecuniary loss or is unable to show such loss with sufficient certainty, he has at least a claim for nominal damages. If a court chooses to ignore a trifling departure, there is no breach and no claim arises." Restatement(Second) of Contracts § 236 cmt. a (1979).

breach of covenant The violation of an express or implied promise, usu. in a contract, either to do or not to do an act. See COVENANT.

breach of duty The violation of a legal or moral obligation; the failure to act as the law obligates one to act; esp., a fiduciary's violation of an obligation owed to another. See NEGLIGENCE.

breach of loyalty An act that is detrimental to the interests of someone to whom a fiduciary duty is owed; esp., an act that furthers the actor's own interests or those of a competitor of the beneficiary.

breach of peace See BREACH OF THE PEACE.

breach of prison See PRISON BREACH.

breach of promise The violation of one's word or under-taking, esp. a promise to marry . Under English common law, an engagement to marry had the nature of a commercial contract, so if one party broke the engagement without justification, the innocent party was entitled to damages. See HEARTBALM STATUTE.

breach of the peace The criminal offense of creating a public disturbance or engaging in disorderly conduct, particularly by making an unnecessary or distracting noise. - Also termed breach of peace; disturbing the peace; disturbance of the peace; public disturbance. See disorderly conduct under CONDUCT. "A breach of the peace takes place when either an assault is committed on an individual or public alarm and excitement is caused. Mere annoyance or insult is not enough: thus at common law a householder could not give a man into custody for violently and persistently ringing his door·bell. It is the particular duty of a magistrate or police officer to preserve the peace unbroken; hence if he has reasonable cause to believe that a breach of the peace is imminent he may be justified in committing an assault or effecting an arrest." R.F.V. Heuston, Salmond on the Law of Torts 131 (17th ed. 1977). "The beginning of our criminal justice was concerned very largely with the problem of keeping the peace. Because of this fact all early indictments included some such phrase as 'against the peace of the King'; and until recently statu· tory provisions for simplification, indictments in this country were thought to be incomplete without some such conclusion as 'against the peace and dignity of the state.' As a result ofthis history all indictable offenses are some· times regarded as deeds which violate the public peace, and hence in a loose sense the term 'breach of the peace' is regarded as a synonym for crime." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 477 (3d ed. 1982).

breach of trust 1. A trustee's violation of either the trust's terms or the trustee's general fiduciary obliga-tions; the violation of a duty that equity imposes on a trustee, whether the violation was willful, fraudulent, negligent, or inadvertent. A breach of trust subjects he trustee to removal and creates personal liability. 2. See MALADMINISTRATION.

breach of warranty 1. A breach of an express or implied warranty relating to the title, quality, content, or condition of goods sold. UCC § 2-312.2. Insurance. A breach of the insured's pledge or stipulation that the facts relating to the insured person, thing, or risk are as stated. See WARRANTY (3).

breach, A breach of contract that endures for a considerable time or is repeated at short intervals.

bread acts 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.

bread-and-cheese ordeal See ordeal of the morsel under ORDEAL.

bread-and-cheese ordeal See ordeal ofthe morsel.

breadth of a claim The scope or extent to which a patent claim excludes others from infringing activity.

break 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 <break the close>.

break a house To violently and feloniously remove or sever any part of a house or its locks.

breakage 1. An allowance given by a manufac-turer 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.

breakdown of the marriage See IRRETRIEVABLE BREAK-DOWN OF THE MARRIAGE.

breaking In the law of burglary, the act of entering a building without permission . It does not require damage to the property. "[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 the dwelling had created the opening, it was felt that he had not entitled himself to the protection of the law, as he had not properly secured his dwelling .... In the modern American criminal codes, only seldom is there a requirement of a breaking. This is not to suggest, however, that elimination of this requirement has left the 'entry' element unadorned, so that any type of entry will suffice. Rather, at least some of what was encompassed within the common law 'breaking' element is reflected by other terms describing what kind of entry is necessary. The most common statutory term is 'unlawfully.' but some jurisdictions use other language, such as 'unauthorized.' by 'trespass.' 'without authority.' without consent.' or 'without privilege.'" Wayne R. Lafave & Austin W. Scott Jr., Criminal Law § 8.13, at 793-94 (2d ed. 1986).

breaking a case 1. The voicing by one appellate judge to another judge on the same panel of a tenta-tive 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.

breaking a close See BREACH OF CLOSE.

breaking a patent The act of demonstrating that a patent is invalid or unenforceable because it was used unlaw-fully by the patentee (esp. in violation of antitrust laws), or improperly issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because of fraud, the existence of prior art, or any other barrier to proper issuance . Defendants in patent-infringement actions may overcome the infringe-ment allegations by showing that the patent should not have been allowed in the first place (so it is invalid), or that the patentee has misused the patent (so the patent is unenforceable).

breaking and entering See BURGLARY (2).

breaking bulk 1. The act of dividing a large shipment into smaller units. 2. Larceny by a bailee, esp. a carrier, who opens containers, removes items from them, and converts the items to personal use. Also termed breaking bale.-break, bulk vb.

breaking of entail See BARRING OF ENTAIL.

breaking-bulk doctrine The rule that a bailee who had lawful possession of property delivered in bulk and wrongfully took the property committed larceny only if the bailee broke the container open and took part or all of the contents . If the bailee wrongfully took the property without opening the container, the act was theft but not larceny. Also termed breaking-bale doctrine.

break-up fee See TERMINATION FEE.

breast of the court A judge's conscience, mind, or dis-cretion . This phrase is a loan translation (or calque) of the Latin phrase in pectore judicis. See IN PECTORE JUDICIS.

Breathalyzer A device used to measure a person's blood alcohol content from a sample of the person's breath, esp. when the police suspect that the person was driving while intoxicated .The term is a trade-marked name. Breathalyzer test results are admissible as evidence if the test was properly administered. Also termed alcoholometer; drunkometer; intoxilyzer; intoximeter. See BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT. breathalyze, vb.

breathing room The postbankruptcy period during which a debtor may formulate a debtrepayment plan without harassment or interference by creditors.