Barratry is the name of two legal concepts, one in criminal and civil law, and one in admiralty law. The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential Civil law, as opposed to Criminal law, refers to that branch of Law dealing with disputes between Individuals and/or Organizations, in which Admiralty law (also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of Law which governs maritime questions and offenses

Contents 1 Criminal and civil law 2 Admiralty law 3 Other 4 References 5 See also

Criminal and civil law

Barratry, in criminal and civil law, is the act or practice of bringing repeated legal actions solely to harass. Usually, the actions brought lack merit. This action has been declared a crime in some jurisdictions. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment For example, in the U.S. states of California, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, barratry is a misdemeanor, ^[1] while in Texas, it is a felony. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour, in many common law legal systems is a "lesser" criminal act Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor. ^[2] In England and Wales the offence was abolished in 1967. History The Roman occupation of Britain was the first period in which the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit (with the exception

Barratry also refers to the act of soliciting legal business from potential clients based on a particular event not just solely to harass. For example, an attorney who stops at the scene of a car accident or follows an ambulance to an emergency room in hopes of finding and soliciting business from an injured and aggrieved person might be accused of barratry. An ambulance is a Vehicle for transporting sick or injured people to from or between places of treatment for an Illness or Injury. The lawyer who practices barratry is called, pejoratively, an Ambulance chaser. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person Ambulance chaser is a Derogatory phrase sometimes used to describe a Trial lawyer who specializes in representing accident victims

Admiralty law

In admiralty law, barratry is an act of gross misconduct committed by a master or crew of a vessel which damages the vessel or its cargo. Admiralty law (also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of Law which governs maritime questions and offenses These activities may include desertion, illegal scuttling, theft of the ship or cargo, and/or committing any actions which may not be in the shipowner's best interests by the master or crew. Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. Cargo (or freight) refers to goods or produce transported generally for Commercial gain by ship, aircraft, train,

Other

Barratry, when used elsewhere, may refer to the buying and selling of positions (which are expected to bring greater income in time) within civil authority. Civil authority is that apparatus of the State other than its Military units that enforces law and order. This venality is the secular counterpart of simony, which is the buying and selling of positions (notably benefices) within the church. Simony is the Ecclesiastical crime of paying for Holy offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church named after Simon Magus, who appears in the Originally a benefice was a gift of land ( Precaria) for life as a reward for services rendered

In his Inferno, Canto XXI, Dante places barrators in the Eighth Circle, fifth pit of Hell. The Divine Comedy Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering

References

1. ^ People v. Sanford, 202 Cal. App. Supp. 1 (App. Dept. Sup. Ct 1988); 18 Pa. C. S. 5109. [1]
2. ^ Texas Penal Code section 38. 12

• California Penal Code Section 158: "Common barratry is the practice of exciting groundless judicial proceedings, and is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months and by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000). "
• California Penal Code Section 159: "No person can be convicted of common barratry except upon proof that he has excited suits or proceedings at law in at least three instances, and with a corrupt or malicious intent to vex and annoy. "

See also

• Abuse of process
• Champerty
• Forum shopping
• Malicious prosecution
• SLAPP
• Vexatious litigation
• Legal advertising

Abuse of process is a Common law intentional Tort. It is to be distinguished from Malicious prosecution, another type of tort that involves misuse of the Forum shopping is the informal name given to the practice adopted by some Litigants to get their Legal case heard in the Court thought most likely Malicious prosecution is a Common law intentional Tort, while like the tort of Abuse of process, its elements include (1 intentionally (and A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (" SLAPP " is a Lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit that is intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought regardless of its merits solely to Harass or subdue an Adversary. Legal advertising is marketing by law firms and Attorneys Marketing and advertising by lawyers in the United States There is no standard definition of what constitutes

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