Basic Legal Vocabulary

Question 1

ban (v.)

Answer 1

to state officially that something is forbidden

Question 2

ban (v.) (e.g.)

Answer 2

Ireland recently banned smoking in all pubs and restaurants.

Question 3

ban (n.)

Answer 3

an official order that forbids something from being used or done

Question 4

ban (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 4

The ban on smoking has been surprisingly well observed.

Question 5

Barrister (n.) UK

Answer 5

In England and Wales, a barrister is a lawyer who represents clients in the higher courts of law. Barristers are specialists in advocacy, presenting cases in court under instruction from a solicitor. A
barrister has rights of audience in higher courts on contentious matters. — see solicitor

Question 6

(the) Bench (n.)

Answer 6

the judge or magistrate, or the place where they sit, in a court of law the position of being a judge or magistrate in a court of law:

Question 7

the bench (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 7

He was appointed to the bench last year.

Question 8

serve/sit/be on the bench (e.g.)

Answer 8

She sat on the bench for 30 years before her retirement last June.

Question 9

the Queen’s Bench Division (or King’s Bench, when a king is ruling)

Answer 9

a division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales

Question 10

a bench trial (adj.) (US)

Answer 10

in the U.S., is one without a jury.

Question 11

Bill (n.)

Answer 11

a legislative proposal that will be discussed before being voted on — see act

Question 12

Bill (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 12

• When a bill is passed in Parliament it becomes law.
• The government re-introduced the Hunting Bill to the House of Commons and voted it through in a day.

Question 13

Bind (v.)

Answer 13

ir. (bound, bound) To make yourself or someone else legally responsible for something

Question 14

bind (v.) (e.g.)

Answer 14

If you are bound by something (a rule, a decision), you have to act in a certain way. A treaty binds all countries who have signed it.
e.g. The new government does not feel bound by any agreements made before it took power.

Question 15

binding (adj.)

Answer 15

A binding promise (agreement, contract) is one that has to be kept.

Question 16

binding (adj.) (e.g.)

Answer 16

• That decision is binding precedent.
• Secretary of State Colin Powell said today that the United States expected to meet Russia’s demand for a “legally binding” agreement on reducing nuclear weapons.

Question 17

break (a law) (v.)

Answer 17

ir. (broke, broken) to fail to obey, to disobey

Question 18

break (v.) (e.g.)

Answer 18

• They didn’t know they were breaking the law when they lit their cigarettes in the pub.
• Whether giving advice to corporate executives or senior government officials, lawyers often walk a fine line between counseling their clients on how to follow the law to avoid prosecution and how to break the law in such a way as to frustrate and impede prosecution.

Question 19

break in (v.)

Answer 19

ir. (broke, broken) to enter into a house or other building by force

Question 20

break in (v.) (e.g.)

Answer 20

The burglars broke in through the front door.

Question 21

break in (n.)

Answer 21

an occasion when a building is entered illegally by a criminal or criminals, usually by damaging a window or door, especially in order to steal something

Question 22

break in (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 22

The number of break-ins in the neighborhood has been increasing every year.

Question 23

bring an action (v.)

Answer 23

ir. (brought, brought) If you bring an action against someone, you start legal proceedings against them. — see action, to sue

Question 24

bring an action (v.) (e.g.)

Answer 24

The family of the dead man brought an action against General Motors for making a car that it knew was defective.

Question 25

burden (of proof) (n.)

Answer 25

the responsibility for proving something — see proof, standard of proof

Question 26

burden (of proof) (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 26

The burden of proof is on the prosecution in a criminal case.

Question 27

burglar (n.)

Answer 27

a thief who enters a house or other building by force

Question 28

burglar (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 28

The burglar got in the house by breaking the front window.

Question 29

burglary (n.)

Answer 29

the act of entering a house or other building by force

Question 30

burglary (n.) (e.g.)

Answer 30

There have been so many burglaries in the neighbourhood this year that people are starting to buy big dogs.

Question 31

burgle (v.)

Answer 31

to enter a house or other building by force to steal something — see break in

Question 32

burgle (v.) (e.g.)

Answer 32

When they got back from their holiday they found that their home had been burgled.