What is Black's Law Dictionary used for?
Asked by: Darrick Weber | Last update: August 24, 2025Score: 4.5/5 (38 votes)
The most commonly used legal dictionary in the United States is Black's Law Dictionary, but there are a number of other titles available. Like all dictionaries, legal dictionaries provide brief definitions and pronunciations of words, but legal dictionaries often offer more.
Is Black's Law Dictionary used in the UK?
British buyers please note: This is an American book published in America and is written for (or is aimed at) the American legal system. I don't know of a British equivalent to this book other than The Oxford Dictionary of Law (which is less than half the size of this Black's Dictionary).
Is Black's Law Dictionary still used today?
Black's Law Dictionary is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States.
What is confidential in Black's Law Dictionary?
Confidentiality (which is about data) involves restricting the flow of. information. The term that applies to something that has the quality of being. confidential, secret or privileged. ( Black's Law Dictionary)
What is controversy in Black's Law Dictionary?
Definition and Citations:
A litigated question; adversary proceeding In a court of law; a civil action or suit, either at law or In equity.
Black’s Law Dictionary
Is Black's Law Dictionary credible?
While some, like Black's, are considered very trustworthy, remember that the definitions in a legal dictionary are not official, authoritative statements of the law. To locate Black's in Westlaw, simply type the title in the main search box on Westlaw and then click on the matching link.
What is obscene in Black's Law Dictionary?
According to Black's Law Dictionary obscenity means character or quality of being obscene, conduct, tending to corrupt the public merely by its indecency ... lewdness. According to Webster's New International Dictionary, word 'obscene' means disgusting to the senses, usually because of some filthy grotesque.
What is a crime in the black Law Dictionary?
According to Black s Law Dictionary, Crime is an act that the law makes punishable; the breach of a legal duty treated as the subject matter of a criminal proceeding (399). There are many aspects that a criminal considers when committing a crime.
Does human mean monster in black law?
Monty Dillard According to Black's Law Dictionary, that Lawyers use the definition of human is a sea monster. Monsters can not own property or inherit property.
What is a probable cause in Black's Law Dictionary?
Probable cause is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as “sufficient reason based upon known facts to believe a crime has been committed or that certain property is connected with a crime.” In other words, probable cause does not exist where a police officer or other agent of the law has a hunch or belief that there is ...
What is the purpose of Black's Law Dictionary?
Dictionaries. Summary. First published in 1891, Black's is now in a 6th edition that reflects changes in tax, finance, commerce, health care, environmental and criminal law. Terms are listed alphabetically with cross-references, and entries give basic legal definitions, word usages, citations, and pronunciation.
What dictionary do UK lawyers use?
Westlaw UK's Index of Legal Terms contains the three most comprehensive and authoritative legal dictionaries; Stroud's Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases, Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law and Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary as well as the Statutory definitions that form part of Westlaw UK Legislation documents.
Do lawyers use Black's law?
What's the most widely cited legal book in the world? If you guessed Black's Law Dictionary, then congratulate yourself. Henry Campbell Black published the first edition in 1891, and today it's a must-have for every lawyer and law student.
Do courts use black Law Dictionary?
The use of dictionaries at the Supreme Court is increasingly popular for various reasons. Black's Law Dictionary is the most frequently used U.S. legal dictionary.
Who wrote Black's Law Dictionary?
The First Edition of Black's Law Dictionary
Henry Campbell Black (1860—1927) was born in Ossining, New York. He was educated at Trinity College in Connecticut, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1880, a master's degree in 1887, and an LLD in 1916.
What is a nuisance in black law?
Definition and Citations:
the term that is given to a violation of a public right that could lead to injury or harm.
What is a person according to Black's Law Dictionary?
After all, Black's Law Dictionary gives as alternative definitions of person “A human being” and “An entity (such as a corporation) that is recognized by law as having most of the rights and duties of a human being”; a reader might have in mind the first definition and not the second.
What is code black law?
Black codes and Jim Crow laws were laws passed at different periods in the southern United States to enforce racial segregation and curtail the power of Black voters. After the Civil War ended in 1865, some states passed black codes that severely limited the rights of Black people, many of whom had been enslaved.
What is assault Black's Law Dictionary?
Black's law dictionary: “Assault” “Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury upon the person of another, when coupled with an apparent present ability to do so, and any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily harm.”
What is liable in black Law Dictionary?
Definition and Citations:
The state of being bound or obliged in law or justice to do, pay, or make good something; legal responsibility. Wood v. Currey, 57 Cal. 209; McElfresh v.
What is prima facie in Black's Law Dictionary?
Prima facie means at first sight, on the first appearance, on the face of it (Black's Law Dictionary).
What is violation in Black's Law Dictionary?
Definition and Citations:
Injury; Infringement; breach of right, duty, or law.
What is a gift in Black's law?
A gift is a transfer of personal property, made voluntarily and without consideration.
What is the meaning of birth certificate in black law?
Definition and Citations:
the certificate that is filed with the right authorities when a child is born that records the date and place of birth and the parent's names etc.
What is mutatis mutandis in black law?
A Latin expression meaning with the necessary changes having been made or with consideration of the respective differences.