A “balancing test” is defined as a subjective test with which a court weighs competing interests. For instance, a court would weigh the interest between an inmate's liberty interest and the government's interest in public safety, to decide...
criminal law and procedure
bankruptcy fraud
Bankruptcy fraud is a white-collar crime that commonly takes four general forms:
A debtor conceals assets to avoid having to forfeit them. An individual intentionally files false or incomplete forms. Including false information on a...bargain
The term “bargain” appears in two specific legal contexts:
The first is contract law, where a bargain is defined as a voluntary agreement between two parties in exchange for consideration. Consideration, here, can be money,...Batson challenge
The Batson challenge refers to the act of objecting the validity of a peremptory challenge, on grounds that the other party used it to exclude a potential juror based on race, ethnicity, or sex. The result of a successful Batson challenge...
Batson objection
A Batson objection, also called a Batson challenge, refers to the act of objecting the validity of a peremptory challenge, on grounds that the other party used it to exclude a potential juror based on race, ethnicity, or sex. The result of a...
battery
Tort Law
Battery is an intentional tort. When a person intentionally causes harmful or offensive contact with another person, the act is battery. However, if the plaintiff expressly consented to such an act or gave implied consent by...
bench warrant
A bench warrant is a process or a legal document issued by the court itself or from the “bench” for the detainment or arrest of a person in a criminal or civil court proceeding, either in a case of contempt, especially when the criminal...
bias
A bias is to exhibit a pre-existing inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something.
In the context of evidence in criminal law, bias is used to describe the relationship between a party and a witness which...
biased assimilation
Biased assimilation is the tendency to interpret information in a way that supports a desired conclusion. This tendency leads parties to place undue credibility on evidence that supports that conclusion while also unduly discounting...
bifurcate
Bifurcate, in the legal sense, is the dividing of a case into two stages for trial. A common division is to determine liability or guilt in the first stage and damages or punishment in the second. For example, in criminal proceedings, the...