Bad Man Theory - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition bad-man-theory

Definition :

Bad-man theory, is a jurisprudential doctrine or belief that a bad person's view of the law represents the best test of what the law actually is because that person will carefully calculate precisely what the rules allow and operate up to the rules limits. This theory was first espoused by Oliver Wendell Holmes in his essay 'The Path of the Law, 10 Harv L Rev 457 (1897)', Black Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 135.