C. A way to avoid a rule without violating its literal requirements
Listen to pronunciationLegal Definition - An ambiguity, omission or exception (as in a law or other legal document) that provides a way to avoid a rule without violating its literal requirements; esp., a tax-code prevision that allows a tax payer to legally avoid or reduce income taxes. Black's Law Dictionary® Eighth Edition © 2004
Recent Usage - FOOTBALL bad boy Lee Bowyer grinned as he left court yesterday after escaping a lengthy driving ban on a technicality. The Newcastle star was banned for just 42 days - despite police claiming he had hit speeds of up to 132mph in his Porsche 911. And Bowyer, 29, who earns £40,000 a week, had celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman to thank when he was ordered to pay a £650 fine with £100 costs. Freeman, whose clients have included Wayne Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Beckham, is nicknamed "Mr Loophole" for his ability to get celebs off the hook. Bowyer, who has had several scrapes with the law for his antics both on and off the field, admitted driving at 99mph on the 70mph A1 at Stannington, Northumberland, in July last year. Hexham Magistrates Court heard police evidence that the footballer, of Felton, Northumberland, had driven at an average speed of 112mph, hitting 132mph, over an eight-mile stretch of road. If the midfielder, who was banned for speeding in 2002, had been been found guilty of driving at that speed, he could have been charged with dangerous driving and banned for at least six months. But Mr Freeman discovered the "mile" used to check Bowyer's speed was actually 34 yards short. And after negotiations with the CPS over the blunder, they agreed to drop the charge to speeding at 99mph in a 70mph zone. A spokeswoman for road safety group Brake described the decision as "worrying". BOWYER'S 'WIN' WITH LOOPHOLE LAWYER, Daily Record, April 20, 2006