Over time these exemptions produced a bewil-
dering set of rules that appeared arbitrary and at
times absurd. For example, a hardware store
could be open on Sundays, and the proprietor
could sell nails, but not hammers. After
WORLD
WAR II
and expansion of U.S. consumer culture,
Sunday closing laws were repealed, or were not
enforced for commerce that did not involve
the sale of alcohol. Nevertheless, non-Christians
and some business owners chafed under the
restrictions that remained in force.
The Supreme Court resolved the constitu-
tionality of blue laws in McGowan v. Maryland,
366 U.S. 420, 81 S.Ct. 1101, 6 L.Ed.2d 393
(1961). The state of Maryland mandated that
many businesses must be closed on Sunday.
Occupations of necessity or charity were
exempted from the law, which included hospi-
tals. Department stores could open on Sunday,
but only certain retail items could be sold on
that day: tobacco products, candy, milk, bread,
fruit, gasoline, oils, greases, drugs, medicines,
newspapers, and magazines. Maryland fined the
employees of a department store for selling
items not on the exempted list. These items
included a notebook, a can of floor wax,
a stapler and staples, and a toy submarine.
The employees appealed their convictions all
the way to the Supreme Court, arguing that the

caused them economic h arm. The Court,
however, did not address how the secular goals
it described were achieved when the law merely
banned the sale of certain retail items. Justice
WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS filed a dissenting opinion in
which he argued that the state had no business
restricting innocent acts because they offe nded
the “ sentiments of their Christian neighbors.”
In his view the law violated the Establishment
Clause.
Since this decision the Supreme Court has
not revisited blue laws. As long as these laws can
be supported by a secular purpose they will be
viewed as constitutional. In the 40 years since
McGowan, however, most states and localities
have abandoned enforcement of blue laws. The
one exception remains the sale of alcohol on
Sundays by liquor stores.
FURTHER READINGS
Andrus, Silas. 1999. The Blue Laws. Storrs, CT: Bibliopola.
“The First Amendment Religion Clauses and Labor and
Employment Law in the Supreme Court, 1984 Term.”
1986. New York Law School Law Review 31 (winter).
Raucher, Alan. 1994. “Sunday Business and the Decline of
Sunday Closing Laws: A Historical Overview.” Journal
of Church and State 36 (winter).
BLUE RIBBON JURY
A group of highly qualified persons selected by a
court on the request of either party to a lawsuit to
decide complex and specialized disputes.

often regulate securities brokers and salespeople.
Almost all states have adopted blue sky laws,
regulating the sale of securities—investments in
bonds, mutual funds, limited partnersh ips, and
so forth. These laws acquired their name as
early as 1917, when the Supreme Court issued a
decision on “speculative schemes which have no
more basis than so many feet of ‘blue sky’” (Hall
v. Geiger–Jones Co., 242 U.S. 539, 37 S. Ct. 217,
61 L. Ed. 480).
Blue sky laws place requirements on cor-
porations and
SECURITIES dealerships that offer
investments for sale to the public in a particular
state. These laws are in many cases adopted
from the Uniform Securities Act, and are
usually enforced primarily by the state’s attor-
ney general’s office. The federal
SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
(SEC) enforces federal
laws that concern foreign and interstate trans-
actions.
State blue sky laws require corporations to
register securities before selling them so that
regulators can check their marketing informa-
tion for accuracy. National on-line computer
networks that became widely available in the
mid-1990s posed new problems fo r states trying
to enforce these requirements. Texas, Ohio, and

of illegally sold securities to try to recover their
money, sometimes in addition to criminal
prosecution. Investors can charge
MISREPRESEN-
TATION
or lack of suitability and can demand
restitution from the broker in
ARBITRATION. CLASS
ACTION
suits can also be filed against a fraudu-
lent brokerage or corporation.
FURTHER READINGS
CCH Editorial Staff. 2006. Blue Sky Law Desk Reference.
Chicago: CCH Inc.
Maynard, Therese H. 1997. “Commentary: The Future of
California’s Blue Sky Law.” Loyola de Los Angeles Law
Review 30 (June).
Shade, Joseph. 1997. “Financing Exploration: Requirements
of Federal and State Securities Laws.” Natural Resources
Journal 37 (summer).
Slobodzian, Joseph A. 1999. “Third Circuit Upholds Blue
Sky Law.” The National Law Journal 20 (February 1).
CROSS REFERENCES
Securitie s; Stock.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A group of people comprising the governing body
of a corporation.
The shareholders of a corporation hold an
election to choose people who have been
nominated to direct or manage the corporation

statutes that concern the removal of directors
with or without cause.
The functions of directors involve a fidu-
ciary duty to the corporation. Directors are in
control of others’ property and their powers are
derived primarily from statute.
Directors are responsible for determining
and executing corporate policy. For example,
they make decisions regarding supervision of
the entire enterprise and regarding products
and services.
Liabilities of directors extend to both their
individual and joint actions. A director who
commits a tort against his or her corporation
can be held personally liable. Directors are
bound by certain duties such as the duty to act
within the scope of their authority and to
exercise due care in the performance of their
corporate tasks.
BOARD OF PARDONS
Part of the executiv e branch of state government
authorized to grant pardons, and restore civil and
political rights, to individuals convicted of crimes.
A pardon, in the legal sense, releases an indi-
vidual from punishment or penalty, but does not
necessarily exonerate them of guilt.
Unlike the federal government, where the
president possesses the power to pardon per-
sons convicted of felonies, many states have
delegated this

tencing has greatly reduced the need for these
boards to conduct parole reviews.
Eligibility for pardons is governed by
statute. Generally, a person convicted of a crime
of violence must wait ten years since the
discharge of the sentence and cannot be on
parole or probation. A person convicted of a
nonviolent crime generally must wait five years
before applying for a pardon. Some pardon
boards also allow an applicant to seek relief
earlier for
GOOD CAUSE. However, these pardons
are difficult to obtain because pardon boards
usually must vote unanimously to grant them.
An applicant must file the appropriate
paperwork with the board of pardons. The
board then notifies the sentencing judge and
prosecutor of the hearing date and time. Many
states also notify crime victims of the hearing
date and publish notices in local newspapers
where the crime occurred. At the hearing, the
applicant explains to the board why he or she is
deserving of a pardon and presents character
witnesses. Judges, prosecutors, and victims may
also testify.
The pardon board considers all testimony
and any written submissions before voting.
Boards of pardon may grant an absolute
pardon, which is also called a full or uncondi-
tional pardon. In contrast, the board may grant

BOARD OF REGENTS
An independent governing body that oversees a
state’s public colleges and universities.
All 50 states have governing bodies that
oversee the administration of public education.
A number of states call the body that admin-
isters the state college and university system
the board of regents. The word regent is an
English term that originally meant ruler. In the
British university system, a regent presided over
academic debate s; this association with higher
education increased over time. Some states refer
to their educational bodies as boards of trustees,
which suggests the type of role such boards
play in education. In a few states, including
New York, the board of regents also oversees
elementary and secondary education. Most
boards of regents, however, deal only with
post-secondary education institutions.
Boards of regents gain their authority from
either state constitutional provisions or statutes.
States that create a board of regents through
constitutional means grant these boards great
political independence. For many states such a
provision creates a “fourth branch of govern-
ment,” insulated from direct interference by a
governor or legislature. Board members, how-
ever, are selected by these branches. They are
either nominated by the governor and con-
firmed by the legislature, or elected directly by

Wisconsin, 774 F.Supp. 1163 [E.D.Wis.1991]).
Boards of regents also have been involved in
controversy over
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION admission
policies. Some policies have generated litigation
that has reached the Supreme Court (
GRATZ V.
BOLLINGER, __U.S.__, 123 S.Ct. 2411, __L.
Ed.2d__ [2003]).
Because of such high profile issues, boards
of regents have been attacked by those who have
opposing viewpoints. In some cases, a new
governor or a displeased legislature will replace
regents with whom they disagree. In general,
however, boards are usually diverse bodies,
composed of business executives, doctors, labor
leaders, farmers, lawyers and, in some cases, a
member of the student body. Historically, the
independence of boards of regents has been
respected.
FURTHER READINGS
Birnbaum, Robert. 1991. How Colleges Work: The Cyber-
netics of Academic Organization and Leadership. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
BOARD OF REGENTS 71
———. 2001. Management Fads in Higher Education: Where
They Come From, What They Do, Why They Fail. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Duderstadt, James J. 2000. A University for the 21st Century.

comb College at Tulane University and taught
history in Romeville, Louisiana. Her 1938
MAR-
RIAGE
to Hale Boggs marked the beginning of an
enduring and formidable political dynasty.
Boggs and her husband first went to
Washington in 1940 when he was a first-year
representative from New Orleans. Then only 24
and 26 years old, respectively, the young couple
devoted themselves to the
DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Boggs’s husband lost his bid for reelection in
1942 but regained his seat in 1946, beginning a
string of 22 consecutive victories by him or
Boggs. During the years that her husband was in
Congress, Boggs, in addition to raising their three
children, worked as his campaign manager, did
community work in New Orleans, organized
social events, and devised an innovative bill-
tracking system for her husband at a time when
no such system existed. When her husband was
killed in an airplane crash in 1972, Boggs ran in
the special election to fill his seat. She won easily,
becoming Louisiana’s first woman—and one of
only 14 women—in Congress.
Although Boggs took her seat in 1973 as a
first-year representative, her three decades as a
congressional wife had given her the types of
contacts enjoyed only by senior members. The

Plantation, La.
1914–1918
World War I
1935 Earned bachelor’s
degree from Sophie
Newcomb College
1938 Married Hale Boggs
1940 Hale Boggs elected to
U.S. House of Representatives
1946 Hale
Boggs
reelected to
the House;
began 26-
year tenure
1939–45
World War II
1950–53
Korean War
1961–73
Vietnam War
1972 Hale Boggs
killed in plane crash
1973 Became Louisiana’s
first congresswoman
1976 Served
as first female
chair of
Democratic
National

B
OGGS
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
72 BODY
of the Smithsonian Institution. At the time of
her retirement, she was the only white con-
gressperson representing a district where most
of the voters were African American, defying the
conventional wisdom that voters prefer candi-
dates of their own race.
In addition to her work on the Appropria-
tions Committee, Boggs served on the Banking,
Currency, and Housing Committee, where she
worked to pass legislation aimed at solving the
housing problems of elderly people and mem-
bers of other low- and middle-income groups.
A strong supporter of equal opportunities for
women, she helped pass legislation that guar-
antees equal access to credit and prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sex in the
granting of small-business loans.
During her many years in Washington, D.C.,
Boggs acted as an unofficial hostess for the
Democratic party, presiding over parties and
receptions attended by most of the Democrats in
the nation’s capital. In looking back on her career,
Boggs expressed pride in having played a “small
role in opening doors for blacks and women,”
in helping to fund Head Start, and in securing
money for businesses owned by minorities and

Berry, Dawn Bradley. 1996. The 50 Most Influential Women
in American Law. Los Angeles: Contemporary Books.
Boggs, Lindy, with Katherine Hatch. 1994. Washington
through a Purple Veil: Memoirs of a Southern Woman.
New York: Harcourt Brace.
Catholic Health Association. Available online at <www.
chausa.org> (accessed August 24, 2009).
Ehrenhalt, Alan, ed. 1983. Politics in America. Washington,
D.C.: Congressional Quarterly.
Gilbert, Lynn, and Gaylen Moore. 1981. Particular Passions:
Talks with Women Who Have Shaped Our Times. New
York: Potter.
Keil, Sally Van Wagenen. 1979. Those Wonderful Women in
Their Flying Machines. New York: Rawson Wade.
O’Neill, Lois D., ed. 1979. The Women’s Book of World Records
and Achievements. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press.
Stineman, Esther. 1980. American Political Women. Littleton,
Colo.: Libraries Unlimited.
BOILERPLATE
A description of uniform language used normally
in legal documents that has a definite, unvarying
meaning in the same context that denotes that the
words have not been individually fashioned to
address the legal issue presented.
Corinne Claiborne
“Lindy” Boggs.
GETTY IMAGES
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3
RD E DITION
BOILERPLATE 73

woman to do so.
Bolin was admitted to the New York bar in
1932 and began her legal career with her father
and brother’s law firm in Poughkeepsie. In 1933
she married Ralph E. Mizelle, also an attorney,
and they settled in New York City.
Bolin’s judicial career commenced just a few
years after she and her husband began practic-
ing law together. On April 7, 1937, she was
named assistant corporate counsel in New York
City’s law department. She served two years in
that position before being summoned, to her
complete surprise, to the office of Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia. On July 22, 1939, La
Guardia appointed Bolin justice of the Domestic
Relations Court of the City of New York (later
called the family court), making her the first
black female judge in the United States. She
presided over family court cases for four
consecutive ten-year terms, until she reached
the mandatory retirement age of 70.
In her many years on the bench, Bolin saw
the full spectrum of domestic cases : serious
crimes, including homicides, committed by
juveniles; nonpayment of family support; spouse
▼▼
▼▼
Jane Matilda Bolin 1908–2007
1905
1950

Domestic Relations Court
1967 Thurgood Marshall became first
African American U.S. Supreme Court justice
1978 Retired at
then-mandatory
age of 70
1979 Became member
of New York State
Regents Review
Committee
◆
Jane Bolin.
THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS
I’D RATHER SEE IF I
CAN HELP A CHILD
THAN SETTLE AN
ARGUMENT BETWEEN
ADULTS OVER
MONEY
.
—JANE BOLIN
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
74 BOLIN, JANE MATILDA
battering; child neglect; lack of supervision for
children; ADOPTION; and PATERNITY. Upon her
retirement in 1978, she noted that during her
years as a judge she had viewed a steady increase
in violent behavior among young people. Asked
if she could suggest solutions to the problem,

tion for the Advancement of Colored People
(
NAACP) and its New York chapter, the Harlem
Tuberculosis Committee, the legislative com-
mittee of the United Neighborhood Houses, the
Wiltwick School for Boys, the Dalton School,
and the Harlem Lawyers’ Association. She was a
member of the Committee on Children of New
York City, the Scholarship Service and Fund for
Negro Students, and the Committee against
Discrimination in Housing.
Bolin and her first husband had one child,
Yorke Bolin Mizelle, who was born in 1941 and
became a New York businessman. Asked how she
combined motherhood, community activities,
and a high-pressure career, Bolin said, “Ididn’t
get all the sleep I needed, and I didn’t g et to travel
as much as I would have liked, because I felt my
first obligation was to my child.” Bolin’sfirst
husband died in 1943. In 1950 she married
Walter P. Offutt Jr., a minister, who died in
1974.
In recognition of her many accomplish-
ments and contributions to the field of
FAMILY
LAW
, Bolin received many awards, including
honorary doctor of law degrees from Morgan
State University, Western College for Women,
Tuskegee University, Hampton University, and

Detroit: Gale Research.
BONA FIDE
[Latin, In good faith.] Honest; genuine; actual;
authentic; acting without the intention of
defrauding.
A bona fide purchaser is one who pur-
chases property for a
VALUABLE CONSIDERATION
that is inducement for entering into a contract
and without suspicion of being defrauded
or deceived by the seller. He or she has no
notice of any defects of the title. A bona fide
purchaser pays in
GOOD FAITH full va lue for the
property and, without any
FRAUD,goesinto
possession.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
BONA FIDE 75
v
BONAPARTE, CHARLES JOSEPH
CHARLES JOSEPH BONAPARTE, who served as U.S.
attorney general under president
THEODORE
ROOSEVELT
, w as one of the organizers of the
Civic Reform League and the National Munici-
pal League, and he helped to found a Special
Agents Force within the
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT that

goos” because they sought good government.
Bonaparte also helped to found the National
Municipal League in 1894. The organization, an
amalgamation of various citywide reform groups
throughout the United States, elected Bonaparte
its president in 1905.
Bonaparte was a member of the
REPUBLICAN
PARTY
although not a particularly active one.
In 1892 Bonaparte and Theodore Roosevelt met
in Baltimore when they both spoke to a local civil
service reform organization. In 1902, President
Roosevelt appointed Bonaparte to the Board of
Indian Commissioners. In 1905, Roosevelt named
Bonaparte secretary of the United States Navy.
In his second term of office, Roosevelt found it
necessary to name a replacement for Attorney
General
WILLIAM HENRY MOODY, who left in Decem-
ber 1906to become an associate justice on the U. S.
Supreme Court. Because of his reformer passions,
Bonaparte was chosen by Roosevelt to be Moody’s
successor. Roosevelt, who had first begun his
Charles Joseph Bonaparte 1851–1921
▼▼
▼▼
18501850
19251925
19001900

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
TO HAVE A POPULAR
GOVERNMENT WE
MUST
, FIRST OF ALL,
AND BEFORE ALL
ELSE
, HAVE GOOD
CITIZENS
.
—CHARLES JOSEPH
BONAPARTE
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
76 BONAPARTE, CHARLES JOSEPH
political career in New York City by campaigning
for municipal reform, was now seeking reform on
a national basis by going after corrupt businesses
and corporations that had formed “trusts” aimed
at stifling competition and keeping wages low.
Roosevelt had become the nation’s “trust-buster,”
and Bonaparte joined the pursuit, launching
antitrust investigations aimed at corporations
such as Standard Oil and the American Tobacco
Company, and railroads including the Union
Pacific. During his tenure in office, Bonaparte
argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme
Court.
While pursuing his various antitrust investi-
gations, Bonaparte found himself hindered by
the lack of a permanent investigative staff within

Law in American History. 2d ed. New York: Oxford
Univ. Press.
Justice Department. 1985. Attorneys General of the United
States, 1789–1985. Washington, D.C.: GPO. Available
online at />website home page: (accessed
July 8, 2009).
“Remarks of Arthur Gajarsa Judge, United States Court of
Appeals of the Federal Circuit.” June 26, 1998.
Washington, D.C.: Italian Historical Society of America.
Available online at />site/flash/BIO/Charles_J._Bonaparte.htm; website home
page: (accessed July 8,
2009).
CROSS REFERENCES
Federal Bureau of Investigation; Justice Department;
Roosevelt, Theodore.
v
BOND, HORACE JULIAN
In the annals of the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT,the
career of politician, activist, and educator Julian
Bond holds a unique place. Bond’s work on
behalf of social justice spans the period from the
1960s through the twenty-first century. As a
college organizer in 1960, he helped found the
Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), arguably the most important group
channel for the young people who expanded
and radicalized the movement. In 1965 he
became one of the first members of his
generation to make the transition from activism
to political office, subsequently serving for