Legal Definition and Related Resources of Blackmail

Synonymous with extortion . The extortion of money from a person by threats of accusation or exposure or opposition in the public prints; hush money; bribe to keep silence; obtaining value from a person as a condition of refraining from making an accusation against him, or disclosing some secret calculated to operate to his prejudice . The exaction of money either for the performance of a duty, the prevention of an injury , or the exercise of an influence . See Hess v Sparks, 24 P. 979, 44 Kan. 465.

noun

• exaction
• extortion
• hush money
• illegal compulsion
• oppressive exaction
• protection
• ransom
• shakedown
• taking by undue exercise of

Browse or run a search for Blackmail in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Blackmail in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Blackmail in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Blackmail in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Translate Blackmail from English to Spanish

Translation of Blackmail, with examples. More about free online translation into Spanish of Chantaje and other legal terms is available here.

• Chantaje
• Extorsión
• Legal English Translation

See also

The use of any letter or writing threatening to injure another”s person,… (Read more)

English Spanish Translation of Blackmail

Chantajear

Find other English to Spanish translations from the Pocket Spanish English Legal Dictionary (print and online), the English to Spanish to English dictionaries (like Blackmail) and the Word reference legal translator.

What does Blackmail mean in American Law?

The definition of Blackmail in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

The crime of extorting money from another by threat of making known his previous criminal or other deeply embarrassing conduct. Often included in statutes that also cover extortion by threat of inflicting personal or property injury, but today usually distinguished from extortion by threat of force. Blackmail is an interesting crime in that one can be convicted for collecting money for not doing what one has a legal right to do, unlike extortion by physical threat where the threatened act, if carried out, would itself be tortious or criminal. Also, another term for “black rents,” for which see alba firma.

Blackmail in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of blackmail.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police Officer
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• blackmail in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• blackmail in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

English Legal System: Blackmail

In the context of the English law, A Dictionary of Law provides the following legal concept of Blackmail :

The crime of making an unwarranted demand with menaces for the purpose of financial gain for oneself or someone else or financial loss to the person threatened. The menaces may include a threat of violence or of detrimental action, e.g. exposure of past immorality or misconduct. Blackmail is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment. As long as the demand is made with menaces, it will be presumed to be unwarranted, unless the accused can show both that he thought he was reasonable in making the demand and that he thought it was reasonable to use the menaces as a means of pressure. Under the Administration of Justice Act 1970, there is also a special statutory crime of *harassment of debtors.

See also threat.

Crimes: blackmail

Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful or damaging information about a person to the public, family, spouse or associates of such person.

Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful or damaging information about a person to the public, family, spouse or associates of such person.

Blackmail in the National Security Context

A definition and brief description of Blackmail in relation to national security is as follows:The threat to expose an individual ™s illegal or immoral acts if the individual does not comply with specific demands.