color of law
1
8.9
- noun
- /ˈkʌlər əv lɔ/
- Formal
:
apariencia de autoridad legal
- No, you may not coerce me into surrendering my fundamental rights and protections outlined under the Constitution, and you may not do this under the color of law.
Examples
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Qualified immunity applies to "state actors" who commit an objectively reasonable federal infraction "under color of law."
Academic text (1997) -
No less a lawyer than Bruce Hayden has agreed that if the President improperly declassified material for political reasons, while he may have had authority to do so, acting in such a manner would constitute malfeasance in office under the color of law.
Blog text (11) -
It's referred to as denial of rights under color of law.
Blog text (11) -
Your religious beliefs are denied to you because you don't know they are using the color of law against you.
Blog text (6) -
When a government employee violates your rights under the color of law (any law that goes against the Constitution), they can be sued or prosecuted.
Blog text (6) -
In America today, we witness the gutting of individual rights and constitutional protections, along with the vilification of select groups of people under the color of law.
Blog text (1) -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provides that "no person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote."
Academic text (2008) -
Impersonating a police officer is a crime that is committed under color of law.
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Government officials found violating constitutional rights are often accused of acting under color of law.
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Many citizens are unaware that their rights can be infringed upon under the color of law.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'color' can be used metaphorically to mean an appearance or veneer, so a B1 learner who knows 'color' and 'law' might reasonably guess a sense like 'appearance of law'. However, the phrase is a fixed legal collocation meaning specifically a pretense or ostensible legal authority, which is domain-specific and not fully predictable from everyday meanings, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Color of law comes from an old use of color meaning 'appearance' or 'mask' that makes something seem official even when it is not. So it now means acting with the 'look' of legal power while without real authority.