BAD FAITH: Dishonesty or fraud in a transaction, such as entering into an agreement with no intention of ever living up to its terms, or knowingly misrepresenting the quality of something that is being bought or sold.
BAIL: The money a defendant pays as a guarantee that he or she will show up in court at a later date. For most serious crimes, a judge sets bail during the arraignment.
BAIL SCHEDULE: The list that sets the amount of bail a defendant is required to pay based on what the charge is. A judge may be able to reduce the amount.
BAILMENT: A legal relationship created when a person gives property to someone else for safekeeping. To create a bailment the other party must knowingly have exclusive control over the property. The receiver must use reasonable care to protect the property.
BANKRUPTCY: Insolvency; a process governed by federal law to help when people cannot or will not pay their debts.
BENCH TRIAL: Also called court trial. A trial held before a judge and without a jury.
BENEFICIARY: Person named in a will or insurance policy to receive money or property; person who receives benefits from a trust.
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT: The highest level of proof required to win a case. Necessary to get a guilty verdict in criminal cases.
BIFURCATION: Splitting a trial into two parts: a liability phase and a penalty phase. In some cases, a new jury may be impaneled to deliberate for the penalty phase.
BILL OF RIGHTS: The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
BINDER: An outline of the basic terms of a proposed sales contract between a buyer and a seller.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The group of people elected by a corporation's shareholders to make major business decisions for the company.
BOND: A document with which one party promises to pay another within a specified amount of time. Bonds are used for many things, including borrowing money or guaranteeing payment of money.
BOOKING: Part of the process of being arrested in which the details of who a person is and why he or she was arrested are recorded into the police records.
BRIEF: A written document that outlines a party's legal arguments in a case.
BURDEN OF PROOF: The duty of a party in a lawsuit to persuade the judge or the jury that enough facts exist to prove the allegations of the case. Different levels of proof are required depending on the type of case.
BUY-SELL AGREEMENT: An agreement among business partners that specifies how shares in the business are to be transferred in the case of a co-owner's death.
BY-LAWS: A corporation's rules and regulations. They typically specify the number and respective duties of directors and officers and govern how the business is run.
BYPASS TRUST: Also called a marital life estate or an A-B trust.
A trust designed to help couples with combined assets over $600,000 save money on estate taxes. A bypass
trust allows each member of a couple to use the $650,000 estate tax exemption.