ban
v. to state officially that something is forbidden
  Ireland banned smoking in all pubs and restaurants in 2004.
n. an official order that forbids something from being used or done
 The ban on smoking has been surprisingly well observed.

barrister
n.(UK) 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

the) bench
n. 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:
  He was appointed to the bench last year.
serve/sit/be on the bench
She sat on the bench for 30 years before her retirement last June.
the Queen's Bench Division (or King's Bench, when a king is ruling) - a division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales
adj. A bench trial, in the U.S., is one without a jury.

 

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

Bill of Rights
n. the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

 

bind
v. ir. (bound, bound) To make yourself or someone else legally responsible for something
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.
  The new government does not feel bound by any agreements made before it took power.
binding adj. A binding promise (agreement, contract) is one that has to be kept.

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.

 

break (a law)
v. ir. (broke, broken) to fail to obey, to disobey
  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.

 

break in
v. ir. (broke, broken) to enter into a house or other building by force
  The burglars broke in through the front door.
n. 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
  The number of break-ins in the neighborhood has been increasing every year.

bring an action
v. ir. (brought, brought) If you bring an action against someone, you start legal proceedings against them. — see action, to sue
  The family of the dead man brought an action against General Motors for making a car that it knew was defective.

burden (of proof)
n. the responsibility for proving something — see proof, standard of proof
  The burden of proof is on the prosecution in a criminal case.

burglar
n. a thief who enters a house or other building by force
  The burglar got in the house by breaking the front window.
burglary
n. the act of entering a house or other building by force
  There have been so many burglaries in the neighbourhood this year that people are starting to buy big dogs.
burgle
v. to enter a house or other building by force to steal something — see break in
  When they got back from their holiday they found that their home had been burgled.