The bar refers to the collective of all lawyers qualified to practice in a given court or jurisdiction. Every state has its own set of requirements for admitting a person into their jurisdiction’s bar. In general, a person must satisfy a...
trial process/advocacy
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in the United Kingdom and certain other common law countries. Lawyers who practice in the United Kingdom are divided into two types: “solicitors,” who provide general legal advice on various areas of law and “...
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...
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...
bill of particulars
A bill of particulars is defined as a written itemization of claims in a lawsuit that the defendant may demand of the plaintiff in some situations in order to clarify the details of the claims.
See e.g., United States v....
brief
A brief is a written argument submitted to the court. Lawyers often prepare briefs which highlight and clarify certain information or provide legal comparisons in an attempt to persuade the courtroom to rule in favor of that lawyer’s client...
bright-line rule
A bright-line rule is an objective rule that resolves legal questions in a straightforward, predictable manner. Because bright-line rules determine outcome entirely based on objective factors, they best allow parties to conduct their affairs...
burden of allegation
The burden of allegation, also known as the burden of pleading, refers to the plaintiff’s obligation to plead sufficient assertions of facts to support a cause of action against a defendant.
As established by the seminal...
burden of persuasion
The burden of persuasion is the requisite degree of belief a party must convince a jury that a particular proposition of fact is true. Combined with the burden of production, the burden of persuasion makes up one half of the burden of proof...