Also known as: bans · banned · banning · prohibition · embargo
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An authoritative legal prohibition imposed by statute, regulation, or judicial decision that renders specified conduct unlawful and subject to enforcement sanctions.
Brian Bailey, a partner at a law firm, entered a consensual sexual relationship with a client before the representation began. When a junior associate later sought to represent the same client in a related matter, the firm determined that the existing ban on the partner extended to all associated lawyers. The firm therefore declined the new representation to avoid violating the imputed prohibition.
Brittany Bell, a resident of a state that prohibited interracial marriage, sought to wed her partner of a different race. State officials enforced the ban by denying the license application. A federal court later held the prohibition unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, allowing the couple to marry.
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Bei Bai contracted with Beacon Bank to deliver specialized equipment. After formation, a new federal regulation banned importation of the required components. The court relieved Bei Bai of performance because the legal prohibition made the contract impracticable without fault.
Benson Motors sought state approval to operate a sports-wagering lounge. State legislators declined to enact authorizing legislation because a federal statute banned states from licensing such schemes. The Supreme Court later invalidated the federal prohibition as an unconstitutional command to state legislatures.
Brenda Booth, a physician, faced criminal charges under a state statute that banned nearly all abortions. She argued the prohibition violated constitutional privacy rights. The litigation ultimately produced a framework requiring the state to justify any ban with a compelling interest.
Brighton Manufacturing owned a historic terminal building. New York City enacted restrictions that effectively banned alterations destroying the structure's historic features. The company claimed a taking, but the Court upheld the prohibition because it advanced a legitimate public interest without denying all economic use.
When lawyers are associated in a firm, a prohibition applicable to one lawyer extends to all of them under the imputation rule. This prevents the firm from circumventing the ban through internal assignment of matters.
Racial classifications in marriage statutes receive the most rigid scrutiny and cannot stand absent a legitimate purpose independent of invidious discrimination. The freedom to marry a person of another race is a fundamental right that the state may not infringe.
A legal prohibition that renders performance impracticable without the party's fault discharges the duty if the non-occurrence of the prohibiting event was a basic assumption of the contract. The party is relieved unless the contract allocated the risk otherwise.
…judicial or ministerial; from this principle the Court of King's Bench derives the power of issuing writs of mandamus and prohibition. If the Court of King's Bench has the power because it is the supreme court of judicature, shall this court be denied that power? The second section of the third article of the…