[out-law-ree] 
| 1. | the act or process of outlawing. |
| 2. | the state of being outlawed. |
| 3. | disregard or defiance of the law: a man whose outlawry had made him a folk hero. |
| out·law·ry (out'lô'rē) n. pl. out·law·ries
[Middle English outlauerie, from Anglo-Norman utlagerie and from Medieval Latin ūtlagāria, both from Old English ūtlaga, outlaw; see outlaw.] |
outlawry
act of putting a person beyond the protection of the law for his refusal to become amenable to the court having legal jurisdiction. In the past, this deprivation of legal benefits was invoked when a defendant or other person was in civil or criminal contempt of court; and, in cases of alleged treason or the commission of a felony (referred to as major outlawry), it amounted to a conviction as well as an extinction of civil rights. In England, on proof of the mere fact of major outlawry, the offender was sentenced to death and was often killed on sight or during the effort to arrest him. Conviction for major outlawry also effected the immediate forfeiture of all property and possessions to the crown and prevented the receipt of any property. In civil proceedings outlawry was formally abolished in England in 1879. Under English law outlawry can now be invoked only for one accused of criminal charges
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