Bilateral means two-sided and is frequently used to refer to agreements between two countries. For example, the United States and Australia have a Bilateral trade agreement limiting tariffs or other protectionist policies between the two...
government
bill of attainder
A bill of attainder is a piece of legislation that declares a party is guilty of a crime. Bills of attainder allow the government to punish a party for a perceived crime without first going through the trial process.
In the...
blanket search warrant
A blanket search warrant is a broad authorization from a judge that allows the police to search multiple areas for evidence without specifying exactly what they are looking for and seize everything found.
The Fourth...
Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA)
The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) is an administrative appeals board of the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) that adjudicates U.S. military veterans’ claims regarding veteran benefits, such as disability compensation, medical...
border patrol
See Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
[Last updated in December of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Brandenburg test
The Brandenburg test was established in Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 US 444 (1969), to determine when inflammatory speech intending to advocate illegal action can be restricted. In the case, a KKK leader gave a speech at a rally to his fellow...
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Overview:
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the “Separate but Equal” doctrine and outlawed the ongoing segregation in schools. The court ruled that laws mandating and enforcing...
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a Department of Justice federal law enforcement agency charged with investigating violations of federal firearm, alcohol, and tobacco laws. The ATF’s mission is to protect the...
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is a term composed of bureau (meaning "writing desk" in old French) and -cracy (meaning "power" in Latin). A bureaucracy is a form of work organization. The historical meaning of the term refers to a body of non-elected government...
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Bush v. Gore (2000) is the Supreme Court case regarding Florida’s recount of the presidential election ballots in the year 2000.
Petitioner, George W. Bush, won the 25 electoral votes in Florida (and thus the presidential...