His REAL ESTATE purchases were made
possible by a growing and successful law
practice. By 1834 he had secured his place in
the local legal community through a joint
publishing venture with Thomas Slidell. Their
Digest of the Reported Decisions of the Superior
Court of the Late Territory of Orleans and of the
Supreme Court of Louisiana was widely used.
Benjamin’s national reputation as a lawyer
was established by his participation in a case
involving the brig Creole. His brief—which
reviewed the status of
SLAVERY under both
INTERNATIONAL LAW and U.S. domestic law—was
printed as a pamphlet and widely circulated. In
this more liberal period of his life, he believed
and argued that slavery was against the laws of
humans and nature. He would later reverse his
position.
Benjamin began his political career in 1842
when he was elected as the Whig candidate to
the lower house of the Louisiana Legislature. He
attended the Louisiana Constitutional Conven-
tion from 1844 to 1845. Benjamin’s wife was
not supportive of his interest in politics, or
tolerant of his abs ences. In 1845, after eleven
years of
MARRIAGE, she moved to Paris. The
couple rarely lived together again as
HUSBAND
AND WIFE

of the escalating national conflict between
North and South, he wanted to stay in the
United States. In 1854 he wrote, “[A] gulf is
already opened between the Northern and
Southern Whigs. God knows what awaits
us. The future looks full of gloom to me.”
Judah Philip
Benjamin.
PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Judah Philip Benjamin 1811–1884
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
❖❖
1811 Born, St.
Croix, British
West Indies
1813 Family
immigrated to
Charleston, S.C.
1827 Moved to
Louisiana
1842 Elected
to Louisiana
Legislature
1852 Elected first
Jewish U.S. senator
1861 Appointed attorney
general of the Confederacy
1861–65
U.S. Civil War
1862–65 Served as secretary

Benjamin was named attorney general of the
Confederate States of America in early 1861. He
served as attorney general until November 21,
1861, when he became secretary of war. He
inherited a war department that was disorga-
nized and deeply in debt. Throughout 1862, the
Confederacy suffered both human resource and
equipment shortages, and severe casualties.
A plan by Benjamin to build troop strength by
drafting slaves—with the promise of emancipa-
tion for service—was prepared and sent to the
Confederate congress. Seeing the initiative as a
threat to the principle of slavery, the congress
failed to pass the measure. Benjamin was eventu-
ally charged with inefficiency, and a motion to
remove him from his post was drafted.
President Davis, still confident in Benja-
min’s abilities, stepped in and appointed him
SECRETARY OF STATE on March 18, 1862. Benjamin
served in that capacity until the fall of the
Confederacy, but he never fully regained his
popularity with the Southern people. Viewed in
an historical context, Benjamin’s service and
loyalty to the Confederacy are extraordinary and
commendable—especially in light of the ex-
treme anti-Semitism and hatred that pervaded
the South throughout the war years.
After Robert E. Lee’s surrender to
ULYSSES S.
GRANT at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9,

Captain Frederick Tresca, a former blockade
runner, and H. A. McLeod, an experienced
sailor for hire. The trio reached Knight’s Key on
July 7, 1865. From there, Benjamin boarded a
boat for Bimini, in the Bahamas. After this
vessel was shipwrecked, he was rescued and
returned to Florid a, where he again faced
capture by federal agents. Benjamin eventually
reached Bimini, and then set sail for England.
He arrived in England on August 30, 1865, after
almost five months of dangerous and grueling
travel.
Without funds, Benjamin made the neces-
sary arrangements to practice law in England.
He was admi tted to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in
1866, and he was soon a respected member of
the British bar. Most of his cases focused on
corporate law. He also wrote about matters
pertaining to business and corporate law. His
Treatise on the Law and Sale of
PERSONAL
PROPERTY
: With Special Reference to the American
Decisions and the French Code and Civil Law was
published in 1868. Commonly known as
Benjamin on Sales, the book was a definitive
source on commercial matters on both sides of
the Atlantic for the next twenty-five years. In
1872, Benjamin was selected Queen’s Counsel.
He practiced law in England until 1883, when

Breyer: Is There a Jewish seat?” 2002. Brandeis Law
Journal 41 (winter).
“Journey to Asylum.” 1987. Civil War Times Illustrated 26,
vol. 8 (December).
“Judah P. Benjamin’s Loyalty to Jefferson Davis.” 1966.
Georgia Review 20, vol. 3.
Krause, Allen. “The Enigmatic Judah Benjamin.” 1978.
Midstream 24, no. 8.
“Meeting Mr. Benjamin.” 1986. Queen City Heritage 44, vol.
3 (fall).
Naresh, Suman. 1996. “Judah Philip Benjamin at the English
Bar.” Tulane Law Review 70 (June).
Patrick, Rembert W. 1950. The Opinions of the Confederate
Attorneys General, 1861–1865. Buffalo: Dennis.
Preisser, Thomas M. “The Virginia Decision to Use Negro
Soldiers in the Civil War, 1864–1865.” 1975. Virginia
Magazine of History and Biography 83, no. 1. Available
online at website
home page: (accessed July 7,
2009).
Sanchez, John E. 1991. “Religious Affirmative Action in
Employment: Fearful Symmetry.” Detroit College of Law
Review.
Sarna, Jonathan D. “The Spectrum of Jewish Leadership in
Ante-Bellum America.” 1982. Journal of American
Ethnic History 1, no. 2.
Schene, Michael G. 1982. The Daring Escape of Judah P.
Benjamin. Tampa, FL: Tampa Bay History.
Wacholder, Ben Zion. “Some Legal and Political Views of
Judah P. Benjamin.

), and introduced a number of terms and
definitions, which are still used today in the
study of philosophy, economics, and politics.
Bentham was born February 15, 1748, in
Houndsditch, near London, into a family of
attorneys. He was educated at Oxford and
admitted to the bar, but decided not to follow in
the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
Instead of practicing law, Bentham chose to
pursue a career in legal, political, and social
reform, applying principles of ethical philoso-
phy to these endeavors.
He was greatly influenced by the work of
Claude-Adrien Helvétius, a French philosopher
who believed t hat a ll pe rsons are intellectua lly
Park Benjamin 1849–1922
◆
◆◆
◆
◆
◆
◆
◆
❖
❖
1849 Born,
New York City
1860 Lenoir constructed the first
internal combustion engine
1861–65

1850
1925
1900
1875
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
20 BENJAMIN, PARK
equal and that differences arise solely from e duca-
tional opportunities. Helvetius also formulated
a theory t hat good is measured by the degree of
self-contentment experienced by a person, and
that self-interest is the compelling force for all
action. This l atter belief had a profound effect
on Bentham, who incorporated the idea in
the formulation of the basic principles of
utilitarianism.
In 1789 Bentham gained public attention
with the publication of his Introduction to the
Principles of Morals and Legislation, which set
forth his fundamental principles. He believed
that the greatest happiness for the greatest
number is the basis of morality. Happiness and
pleasure were the same, and included social,
intellectual, and moral as well as physical
pleasures. According to Bentham, each pleasure
has certain characteristics, including intensity
and duration, and he established a scale of
measurement to judge the worth of a plea sure
or a pain. Bentham further opined that each
person strives to do what makes him or her
happiest. The happiness of an individual and

torture ceases immediately when a subject com-
plies with the demands of authority. Of course,
this idea discounts the question of whether the
subject can in fact comply.
Jeremy Bentham 1748–1832
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
❖
❖
1748 Born,
London, England
1760
Admitted
to Queen's
College,
Oxford
1766
Received
M.S. from
Queen's
College
1776
Fragment on
Government
published
anonymously
1775–83
American Revolution
1789 Introduction to the
Principles of Morals and
Legislation published;

punishment to incarceration. He called his
model the “Panopticon.” The Panopticon was
a prison building—and a whole system of
incarceration—that allowed guards total sur-
veillance and physical contro l over prison
inmates. Writing of the Panopticon, Bentham
claimed that hard labor, constant surveillance
and monitoring, and solitary confinement (for
purposes of reflection and repentance) were
fundamental requirements needed to reform
and rehabilitate criminal offenders. This theory
builds upon the notion that punishment can be
the means to make an offender lead a life of
moral and civil rectitude.
Bentham attempted to persuade President
JAMES MADISON to adopt a code of laws that he
himself had devised. The philosopher was
careful to cite existing rules and previous cases
to illustrate that his legal theories were sound.
Madison rejected Bentham’s idea in 1811, but in
the 1830s a group of U.S. reformers adopted
several of his policies with the objective of
formulating a simplified code of law.
Although Bentham is often credi ted with
founding University College, London, this belief
is erroneous. However, Bentham’s views on
unbiased access to education were instrumental
in the school’s development. When Bentham
died June 6, 1832, per his instruc tions, his body
was dissected, embalmed, dressed, and seated in

devise.
BEQUEST
A gift of personal property, such as money, stock,
bonds, or jewelr y, owned by a decedent at the time
of death which is directed by the provisions of the
decedent’s will; a legacy.
A bequest is not the same as a devise (a
testamentary gift of real property) although the
terms are often used interchang eably. When this
occurs, a bequest can be a gift of real property
if the testator’s intention to dispose of real
property is clearly demonstrated in the will.
There are different types of bequests. A
charitable bequest is a gift intended to serve a
religious, educational, political, or general social
purpose to benefit mankind, aimed at the com-
munity or a particular segment of it. Charitable
bequests also reduce the estate taxes that might
be owed on the estate left by a decedent.
A demonstrative bequest is a gift of money
that must be paid from a particular source, such
as a designated bank account or the sale of stock
in a designated corporation. A general bequest is
a gift of money or other property that can be
paid or taken from the decedent’s general assets
and not from a specific fund designated by the
terms of the will.
BERING SEA DISPUTE
The Bering Sea Dispute involved a late nine-
teenth-century contro versy between the United

killed off by pelagic (open-sea) sealing, the U.S.
government seized several Canadian sealing
vessels in 1886 and instituted condemnation
proceedings in an Alaskan court. The proceeds
were given to the Alaskan Commercial Com-
pany as compensation.
These actions outraged the Canadian and
British governments, who disputed the U.S.
claim that it controlled not just the three-miles
of sea bordering the Pribilof Islands but the
entire Bering Sea. After several years of tensions
and additional vessel seizures, the three coun-
tries agreed to arbitration by an international
tribunal in Paris. The tribunal issued its
decision in 1893. It rejected the U.S. claim of
total control of the Bering Sea and awarded the
Canadian owners of the seized ships $473,000 in
damages. The tribunal also imposed restrictions
on pelagic sealing, but it failed to control the
problem. In 1911 the United States, Great
Britain, Russia, and Japan signed a treaty that
prohibited pelagic sealing for a period of time
and then placed limits on how many seals could
be hunted. The agreement was an important
step in seeking international consensus on
environmental matters.
FURTHER READINGS
Gay, John Thomas. 1987. The American Fur Seal Diplomacy.
New York: Peter Lang.
Mead, Walter Russell. 2002. Special Providence: American

NEW DEAL legislation concerning
SECURITIES and banking.
From 1938 to 1944 Berle was assistant
SECRETARY OF STATE; in 1945 he was U.S.
ambassador to Brazil; and in 1946 he returned
▼▼
▼▼
19001900
Adolph Augustus Berle Jr. 1895–1971
18751875
19251925
19501950
19751975
❖
❖
◆◆
◆
◆
◆
1895 Born,
Boston, Mass.
1914–18
World War I
1918–19 Served as member
of Paris Peace Conference
1927 Began
teaching
corporate law at
Columbia
University

CHARTER
[ARE]
EXERCISABLE ONLY
FOR THE RATABLE
BENEFIT OF ALL THE
SHAREHOLDERS AS
THEIR INTEREST
APPEARS
.
—ADOLPH BERLE JR.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
BERLE, ADOLPH AUGUSTUS, JR. 23
to Columbia University to continue his teach-
ing career. He helped establish the Liberal party
and acted as its chairman from 1952 to 1955.
One of Berle’s several publications was
The Modern Corporation and Private Property
(1932), written with coauthor G. C. Means.
Berle died February 17, 1971, in New York City.
v
BERRIEN, JOHN MACPHERSON
John Macpherson Berrien served as U.S. attor-
ney general under President
ANDREW JACKSON.
Berrien was born August 23, 1781, in New
Jersey. He graduated from Princeton in 1796
and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1799.
He began his judicial career in Georgia as a
CIRCUIT COURT judge in 181 0 and remained on
the bench until 1821.

proof in a lawsuit is embodied in the best-
evidence rule.
BESTIALITY
Sexual relations between a human being and an
animal.
At
COMMON LAW, bestiality was considered a
crime against nature and was punishable by
death. In the early 2000s, it is prohibited by
statutes in most states as a form of
SODOMY. The
penalty for committing the offense is a fine,
imprisonment, or both.
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT
The standard that must be met by the prosecu-
tion’s evidence in a criminal prosecution: that no
other logical explanation can be derived from the
facts except that the defendant committed the
crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a
person is innocent until proven guilty.
If the jurors or judge have no doubt as to
the defendant’s guilt, or if their only doubts are
unreasonable doubts, then the prosecutor has
proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reason-
able doubt and the
DEFENDANT should be
pronounced
GUILTY.
The term connotes that evidence establishes
a particular point to a moral certainty and

1841 Reelected to U.S. Senate
1810–21 Served
as circuit court
judge in Georgia
1799
Admitted to
Georgia bar
1824 Elected to U.S. Senate
▼▼
▼▼
❖
17751775
18251825
18501850
18751875
18001800
❖
◆
1822 Elected to Georgia state Senate
IF THIS POWER IS NOT
GRANTED BY THE
CONSTITUTION, IT IS
VERY CERTAIN
, THAT
NO SERIES OF
USURPATION CAN
GIVE IT A LEGITIMATE
EXISTENCE IN THAT
INSTRUMENT
.

over which he or she presides has a mental
attitude toward a party to the litigation that
hinders the judge from supervising fairly the
course of the trial, thereby depriving the party
of the right to a fair trial. A judge may recuse
himself or herself to avoid the appearance of
bias. If, during the
VOIR DIRE, a prospective juror
indicates bias toward either party in a lawsuit,
the juror can be successfully challenged for
cause and denied a seat on the jury.
BICAMERAL
The division of a legislative or judicial body into
two components or chambers.
The
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES is a
bicameral legislature, since it is divided into
two houses, the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
v
BICKEL, ALEXANDER MORDECAI
Alexander Mordecai Bickel was a noted legal
scholar, law professor, and essayist who wrote
extensively about
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW issues and
the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bickel was born December 17, 1924, in
Bucharest, Romania, and imm igrated to the
United States with his parents in 1939. He
attended the City College of New York, gra-

◆
◆
◆
◆
1939–45
World War II
1950–53
Korean War
1961–73
Vietnam War
1924 Born,
Bucharest, Romania
1939 Immigrated to
U.S. with parents
1949 Graduated summa cum
laude from Harvard Law School
1952–53 Clerked for U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Felix Frankfurter
1956
Joined
Yale Law
School
faculty
1957 Edited The Unpublished
Opinions of Mr. Justice Brandeis
1963 The Least
Dangerous
Branch: The
Supreme Court
at the Bar of

such racial segregation in public education was
unconstitutional. During his clerkship with
Frankfurter, Bickel studied the
FOURTEENTH
AMENDMENT
extensively and concluded that the
Constitution did provide that congressional or
JUDICIAL ACTION could be used to abolish school
segregation.
After completing his clerkship with Justice
Frankfurter, Bickel joined the faculty of Yale
Law School, in 1956. He was named Chancellor
Kent Professor of Law and
LEGAL HISTORY in
1966, and Sterling Professor of Law in 1974, the
year of his death.
Bickel wrote a number of influential books
and essays. In addition to longer works, he
published more than a hundred articles in
newspapers and magazines. He edited The
Unpublished Opinions of Mr. Justice Brandeis, a
volume of eleven Brandeis draft opinions
concerning the issue of judicial restraint, a
major theme in much of Bickel’s later writings.
In his most influential work, The Least Danger-
ous Branch: The Supreme Court at the Bar of
Politics (1963), Bickel argued that courts should
make decisions that are grounded in history and
in the values fo und in the Constitution, and
should not make decisions that cannot gain

and that such rest raint was to be found in
congressional legislation rather than in asser-
tions of governmental power. The Court
ultimately rejected the government’s claim that
the papers should not be published, and several
of the justices adopted Bickel’s analysis in their
opinions.
A recognized expert on the
SUPREME COURT OF
THE UNITED STATES
, Bickel served as a member
of the Study Group on the Caseload of the
Supreme Court. In 1973 he authored The
Caseload of the Supreme Court—and What, If
Anything, to Do about It, in which he concluded
that the Court’s caseload should be reduced.
Easing the Court’s workload is critical, he
argued, to ensure careful deliberation of impor-
tant issues and to avoid transforming the Court
“into a high-speed, high-volume enterprise”
that would “mock the idea of justice and mock
the substantive reforms of a generation.”
FURTHER READINGS
Bickel, Alexander M. 1973. The Caseload of the Supreme
Court and What, If Anything, to Do about It.
Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for
Public Policy Research.
———. 1963. The Least Dangerous Branch: The Supreme
Court at the Bar of Politics. Indianapolis: Dobbs-Merrill.
———. 1970. The Supreme Court and the Idea of Progress.

—FRANCIS BIDDLE
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
26 BIDDLE, FRANCIS BEVERLY
Biddle served as special assistant U.S.
attorney from 1922 to 1926 and as chairman
of the
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD from
1934 to 1935. In 1939, he presided for one
year as a justice of the U.S.
CIRCUIT COURT of
Appeals.
Biddle was solicitor general of the United
States in 1940, and the following year he became
U.S. attorney general for a three-year period.
From 1945 to 1946, he presided as a U.S. judge
at the
NUREMBERG TRIALS of Nazi war criminals.
He died October 4, 1968, in Hyannis, Massa-
chusetts.
CROSS REFERENCE
Nuremberg Trials.
BIFURCATED TRIAL
One judicial proceeding that is divided into two
stages in which different issues are addressed
separately by the court.
A common example of a bifurcated trial is
one in which the question of liability in a
PERSONAL INJURY case is tried separately from
and prior to a trial on the amount of damage s
to be awarded if liability is f ound . A bifurcated

1886 Born,
Paris, France
1914–18
World War I
1968 Died,
Hyannis, Mass.
◆
◆
1915 Formed
law firm of
Biddle, Paul
and Jayne
1939–45
World War II
1945–46
Presided as
U.S. judge
at the
Nuremberg
war crimes
trials
1950–53
Korean War
1950-53 Served as chair of
Americans for Democratic Action
1961 Justice
Holmes, Natural
Law, and the
Supreme Court
published

BIGELOW, MELVILLE MADISON 27