BRIBE, crim. law. The gift or promise, which is accepted, of some advantage, as the inducement for some illegal act or omission; or of some illegal emolument, as a consideration, for preferring one person to another, in the performance of a legal act.
BRIBERY, crim. law. The receiving or offering any undue reward by or to any person whomsoever, whose ordinary profession or business relates to the administration of public justice, in order to influence his behaviour in office, and to incline him to act contrary to his duty and the known rules of honesty and integrity. 3 Inst. 149; 1 Hawk. P. C. 67, s. 2 4 Bl. Com. 139; 1 Russ. Cr. 156.
2. The term bribery extends now further, and includes the offence of giving a bribe to many other officers. The offence of the giver and of the receiver of the bribe has the same name. For the sake of distinction, that of the former, viz : the briber, might be properly denominated active. bribery; while that of the latter, viz : the person bribed, might be called passive bribery.
3. Bribery at elections for members of parliament, has always been a crime at common law, and punishable by indictment or information. It still remains so in England notwithstanding the stat. 24 Geo. H. c. 14 3 Burr. 1340, 1589. To constitute the offence, it is not necessary that the person bribed should, in fact, vote as solicited to do 3 Burr. 1236; or even that he should have a right to vote at all both are entirely immaterial. 3 Bur. 1590-1.
4. An attempt to bribe, though unsuccessful, has been holden to be criminal, and the offender may be indicted. 2 Dall. 384; 4 Burr. 2500 3 Inst. 147; 2 Campb. R. 229; 2 Wash. 88; 1 Virg. Cas. 138; 2 Virg. Cas. 460.
BRIBOUR. One that pilfers other men's goods; a thief. See 28 E. II., c. 1.
BRIDGE. A building constructed over a river, creek, or other stream, or ditch or other place, in order to facilitate the passage over the same. 3 Harr. 108.
2. Bridges are of several kinds, public and private. Public bridges may be divided into, 1st. Those which belong to the public; as state, county, or township bridges, over which all the people have a right to pass, with or without paying toll these are built by public authority at the public expense, either of the state itself, or a district or part of the state.
3. - 2d. Those which have been built by companies, or at the expense of private individuals, and over Which all the people have a right to pass, on the payment of a toll fixed by law. 3d. Those which have been built by private individuals and which have been dedicated to public uscs. 2 East, R. 356; 5 Burr. R. 2594; 2 Bl. R. 685 1 Camp. R. 262, n.; 2 M. & S. 262.
4. A private bridge is one erected for the use of one or more private persons; such a bridge will not be considered a public bridge, although it may be occasionally used by the public. 12 East, R. 203-4. Vide 7 Pick. R. 844; 11 Pet. R. 539; 7 N. H. Rcp. 59; 1 Pick. R. 432; 4 John. Ch. R. 150.
BRIEF, eccl. law. The name of a kind of papal rescript. Briefs are writings sealed with wax, and differ in this respect from bulls, (q. v.) which are scaled with lead. They are so called, because they usually are short compendious writings. Ayl. Parerg. 132. See Breve.
BRIEF, practice. An abridged statement of a party's case.
2. It should contain : 1st. A statement of the names of the parties, and of their residence and occupation, the character in which they sue and are sued, and wherefore they prosecute or resist the action. 2d. An abridgment of all the pleadings. 3d. A regular, chronological, and methodical statement of the facts in plain common language. 4th. A summary of the points or questions in issue, and of the proof which is to support such issues, mentioning specially the names of the witnesses by which the facts are to be proved, or if there be written evidence, an abstract of such evidence. 5th. The personal character of the witnesses should be mentioned; whether the moral character is good or bad, whether they are naturally timid or over-zealous, whether firm or wavering. 6th. If known, the evidence of the opposite party, and such facts as are adapted to oppose, confute, or repel it. Perspicuity and conciseness are the most desirable qualities of a brief, but when the facts are material they cannot be too numerous when the argument is pertinent and weighty, it cannot be too extended.
3. Brief is also used in the sense of breve. (q. v.)
BRIEF OP TITLE, practice, conveyancing. An abridgment of all the patents, deeds, indentures, agreements, records, and papers relating to certain real estate.
2. In making a brief of title, the practitioner should be careful to place every deed and other paper in chronological order. The date of each deed; the names of the parties; the consideration; the description of the property; should be particularly, noticed, and all covenants should also be particularly inserted.
3. A vendor of an interest in realty ought to have his title investigated, abstracted, and evidence in proof of it ready to be produced and established before he sells; for if he sell with a confused title, or without being ready to produce deeds and vouchers, he must be at the expense of clearing it. 1 Chit. Pr. 304, 463.
BRINGING MONEY INTO COURT. The act of depositing money in the hands of the proper officer of the court, for the purpose of satisfying a debt or duty, or of an interpleader.
2. Whenever a tender of money is pleaded, and the debt is not discharged by the tender and refusal, money may be brought into court, without asking leave of the court; indeed, in such cases the money must be brought into court inorder to have the benefit of the tender. In other cases, leave must be had, before the money can be brought into court.
3. In general, if the money brought into court is sufficient to satisfy the plaintiff 's claim, he shall not recover costs. See Bac. Ab. Tender, &c.
BROCAGE, contracts. The wages or commissions of a broker his occupation is also sometimes called brocage. This word is also spelled brokerage.
BROKERAGE, contracts. The trade or occupation of a broker; the commissions paid to a broker for his services.
BROKERS, commerce. Those who are engaged for others, in the negotiation of contracts, relative to property, with the custody of which they have no concern. Paley on Agency, 13; see Com. Dig. Merchant, C.
2. A broker is, for some purposes, treated as the agent of both parties; but in the first place, he is deemed the agent only of the person by whom he is originally employed; and does not become the agent of the other until the bargain or contract has been definitely settled, as to the terms, between the principals. Paley on Ag. by Lloyd, 171, note p; 1 Y. &, J. 387.
3. There are several kinds of brokers, as, Exchange Brokers, such as negotiate in all matters of exchange with foreign countries.
4. Ship Brokers. Those who transact business between the owners of vessels, and the merchants who send cargoes.
5. Insurance Brokers. Those who manage the concerns both of the insurer and the insured.
6. Pawn Brokers. Those who lend money, upon goods, to necessitous people, at interest.
7. Stock Brokers. Those employed to buy and sell shares of stocks in corporations and companies. Vide Story on Ag. 28 to 32; T. L. h. t.; Maly. Lex Mer. 143; 2 H. Bl. 555; 4 Burr, R. 2103; 4 Kent, Com. 622, note d, 3d ed.; Liv. on Ag. Index, h. t.; Chit. Com. L. Index, h. t.; and articles Agency; dgent; Bought note; Factor; Sold note.
BROTHELS, crim. law. Bawdy-houses, the common habitations of prostitutes; such places have always been deemed common nuisances in the United States, and the keepers of them may be fined and imprisoned.
2. Till the time of Henry VIII, they were licensed in England, when that lascivious prince suppressed them. Vide 2 Inst. 205, 6; for the history of these pernicious places, see Merl. Rep. mot Bordel Parent Duchatellet, De la Prostitution dans la ville de Paris, c. 5, 1; Histoire de la Legislation sur les femmes publiques, & c., par M. Sabatier.
BROTHER, domest. relat. He who is born from the same father and mother with another, or from one of them only.
2. Brothers are of the whole blood, when they are born of the same father and mother, and of the half blood, when they are the issue of one of them only.
3. In the civil law, when they are the children of the same father and mother, they are called brothers germain; when they descend from the same father, but not the same mother, they are consanguine brothers; when they are the issue of the same mother, but not the same father, they are uterine brothers. A half brother, is one who is born of the same father or mother, but not of both. One born of the same parents before they were married, a left-sided brother; and a bastard born of the same father or mother, is called a natural brother. Vide Blood; Half-blood; Line; and Merl. Repert. mot Frere; Dict. de Jurisp. mot Frere; Code, 3, 28, 27 Nov. 84, praef; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.
BROTHER-IN-LAW, domestic relat. The brother of a wife, or the hushand of a sister. There is no relationship, in the former case, between the hushand and the brother-in-law, nor in the latter, between the brother and the hushand of the sister; there is only affinity between them. See Vaughan's Rep. 302, 329.
BRUISE, med. jurisp. An injury done with violence to the person, without breaking the skin; it is nearly synonymous with contusion. (q . v.) 1. Ch. Pr. 38; vide 4 Car. & P. 381, 487, 558, 565; Eng. C. L. Rep. 430, 526, 529. Vide Wound.
BUBBLE ACT, Eng. law. The name given to the statute 6 Geo. I., c. 18, which was passed in 1719, and was intended " for restraining several extravagant and unwarrantable practices therein mentioned." See 2 P. Wms. 219.
BUGGERY, crim. law. The detestable crime of having commerce contrary to the order of nature, by mankind with mankind, or with brute beasts, or by womankind with brute beasts. 3 Inst. 58; 12 Co. 36; Dane's Ab. Index, h. t.; Merl. Repert. mot Bestialie. This is a highly penal offence.
BUILDING, estates. An edifice erected by art, and fixed upon or over the soil, composed of stone, brick, marble, wood, or other proper substance, 'Connected together, and designed for use in the position in which it is so fixed. Every building is an accessory to the soil, and is, therefore, real estate: it belongs to the owner of the soil. Cruise, tit. 1, S. 46. Vide 1 Chit. Pr. 148, 171; Salk. 459; Hob. 131; 1 Mete. 258; Broom's Max. 172.
BULK, contracts. Said to be merchandise which is neither counted) weighed, nor measured.
2. A sale by bulk, is a sale of a quantity of goods,, such as they are, without measuring, counting, or weighing. Civ. Code of Louis. a. 3522, n. 6.
BULL, eccles. law. A letter from the pope of Rome, written on parchment, to which is attached a leaden seal, impressed with the images of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
2. There are three kinds of apostolical rescripts, the brief, the signature, and the bull, which last is most commonly used in legal matters. Bulls may be compared to the edicts and letters-patent of secular princes: when the bull grants a favor, the seal is attached by means of silken strings; and when to direct execution to be performed, with flax cords. Bulls are written in Latin, in a round and Gothic hand. Ayl. Par. 132; Ayl. Pand. 21; Mer. Rep. h. t.
BULLETIN. An official account of public transactions on matters of importance. In France, it is the registry of the laws.
BULLION. In its usual acceptation, is uncoined gold or silver, in bars, plates, or other masses. 1 East, P. C. 188.
2. In the acts of Congress, the term is also applied to copper properly manufactured for the purpose of being coined into money. For the acts of Congress, authorizing the coinage of bullion for private individuals, see Act of April 2, 1792, s. 14, 1 Story, 230; Act of May 19, 1828, 4 Sharsw. cont. of Story's Laws U. S. 2120; Act of June 28, 1834, Id. 2376; Act of January 18, 1837, Id. 2522 to 2529. See, for the English law on the subject of crimes against bullion, 1 Hawk. P. C. 32 to 41.
BUOY. A piece of wood, or an empty barrel, floating on the water, to show the place where it is shallow, to indicate the danger there is to navigation. The act of Congress, approved the 28th September, 1850, enacts, " that all buoys along the coast, in bays, harbors, sounds, or channels, shall be colored and numbered, so that passing up the coast or sound, or entering the bay, harbor or channel, red buoys with even numbers, shall be passed on the starboard hand, black buoys, with uneven numbers, on the port hand, and buoys with red and black stripes on either hand. Buoys in channel ways to be colored with alternate white and black perpendicular stripes."
BURDEN OF PROOF. This phrase is employed to signify the duty of proving the facts in dispute on an issue raised between the parties in a cause.
2. The burden of proof always lies on the party who takes the affirmative in pleading. 1 Mass. 71, 335; 4 Mass. 593; 9 Pick. 39.
3. In criminal cases, as every man is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved, the burden of proof rests on the prosecutor, unless a different provision is expressly made by statute. 12 Wheat. See Onus probandi.
BUREAU. A French word, which literally means a large writing table. It is used figuratively for the place where business is transacted: it has been borrowed by us, and used in nearly the same sense; as, the bureau of the secretary of state. Vide Merl. Repert. h. t.
BUREAUCRACY. The abuse of official influence in the affairs of government; corruption. This word has lately been adopted to signify that those persons who are employed in bureaus abuse their authority by intrigue to promote their own benefit, or that of friends, rather than the public good. The word is derived from the French.
BURGAGE, English law. A species of tenure in socage; it is where the king or other person is lord of an ancient borough, in which the tenements are held by a rent certain. 2 B1. Com. 82.
BURGESS. A magistrate of a borough; generally, the chief officer of the corporation, who performs, within the borough, the same kind of duties which a mayor does in a city. In England, the word is sometimes applied to all the inhabitants of a borough, who are called burgesses sometimes it signifies the representatives of a borough in parliament.
BURGH. A borough; (q. v.) a castle or town.
BURGLA. One who commits a burglary. (q. v.)
BURGLARIOUSL, pleadings. This is a technical word, which must be introduced into an indictment for burglary; no other word will answer the same purpose, nor will any circumlocution be sufficient. 4 Co. 39; 5 Co. 121; Cro. Eliz. 920; Bac. Ab. Indictment, G 1; Com. Dig. Indictment, G 6; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 242.
BURGLARY, crim. law. The breaking and entering the house of another in the night time, with. intent to commit a felony therein, whether the felony be actually committed or not. 3 Inst. 63; 1 Hale, 549; 1 Hawk. c. 38, s. 1; 4 Bl. Com. 224; 2 East, P. C. C. 15, s. 1, p. 484; 2 Russell on Cr. 2; Roscoe, Cr. Ev. 252; Coxe, R. 441; 7 Mass. Rep. 247.
2. The circumstances to be considered are, 1. in what place the offence can be committed; 2. at what time 3. by what means; 4. with what intention.
3.- 1. In what place a burglary can be committed. It must, in general, be committed in a mansion house, actually occupied as a dwelling; but if it be left by the owner animo revertendi, though no person resides in it in his absence, it is still his mansion. Fost. 77; 3 Rawle, 207. The principal question, at the present day, is what is to be deemed a dwelling-house. 1 Leach, 185; 2 Leach, 771; Id. 876; 3 Inst. 64; 1 Leach, 305; 1 Hale, 558; Hawk. c. 38, s. 18; 1 Russ. on Cr. 16; 3 Berg. & Rawle, 199 4 John. R. 424 1 Nott & M'Cord, 583; 1 Hayw. 102, 242; Com. Dig. Justices, P 5; 2 East, P. C. 504.
4. - 2. At what time it must be committed. The offence must be committed in the night, for in the day time there can be no burglary. 4 Bl. Com. 224. For this purpose, it is deemed night when by the light of the sun a person cannot clearly discern the face or countenance of another 1 Hale, 550; 3 nst. 63. This rule, it is evident, does not apply to moonlight. 4 Bl. Com. 224; 2 Russ. on Cr. 32. The breaking and entering need not be done the same night 1 Russ. & Ry. 417; but it is necessary the breaking and entering should be in the night time, for if the breaking be in daylight and the entry in the night, or vice versa, it will not be burglary. 1 Hale, 551; 2 Russ. on Cr. 32. Vide Com. Dig. Justices, P 2; 2 Chit. Cr. Law, 1092.
5.-3. The means used. There must be both a breaking and an entry. First, of the breaking, which may be actual or constructive. An actual breaking tal-,es place when the burglar breaks or removes ally part of, the house, or the fastenings provided for it, with violence. Breaking a window, taking a pane of glass out, by breaking or bending the nails, or other fastenings, raising a latch where the door is not otherwise fastened; picking open a lock with a false key; putting back the lock of a door or the fastening of a window, with an instrument; turning the key when the door is locked in the inside, or unloosening any other fastening which the owner has provided, are several instances of actual breaking. According to the Scotch law, entering a house by means of the true key, while in the door, or when it had been stolen, is a breaking. Alis. Pr. Cr. Law, 284. Constructive breakings occur when the burglar gams an entry by fraud, conspiracy or threats. 2 Russ. on Cr. 22 Chit. Cr. Law, 1093. The breaking of an inner door of the house will be sufficient to constitute a burglary. 1 Hale, 553. Any, the least, entry, with the whole or any part of the body , hand, or foot, or with any instrument or weapon, introduced for the purpose of committing a felony, will be sufficient to constitute the offence. 3 Inst. 64; 4 Bl. Com. 227; Bac. Ab. Burglary, B Com. Dig. Justices, P 4. But the introduction of an instrument, in the act of breaking the house, will not be a sufficient entry, unless it be introduced for the purpose of committing a felony.
6. - 4. The intention. The intent of the breaking and entry must be felonious; if a felony however be committed, the act will be prima facie evidence of an intent to commit it. If the breaking and entry be with an intention to commit a bare trespass, and nothing further is done, the offence will not be a burglary. 1 Hale, 560; East, P., C. 509, 514, 515; 2 Russ. on Cr. 33.
BURGOMASTER. In Germany this is, the title by which an officer who performs the duties of a mayor is, called.
BURIAL. The act of interring the dead.
2. No burial is lawful unless made in conformity with the local regulations; an when a dead body has been found, it cannot be lawfully buried until the coroner has holden an inquest over it. In England. it is the practice for coroners to issue warrants to bury, after a view. 2 Umf. Lex. Coron. 497, 498.
BURNING. Vide Accident; Arson; Fire, accidental.
BURYING-GROUND. A place appropriated for depositing the dead; a cemetery. In Massachusetts, burying-grounds cannot, be appropriated to roads without the consent of the owners. Massachusetts Revised St. 239.