I believe one term you may be thinking of is “prejudice.” The word “prejudice” has a particular meaning in the law. According to Black’s Law Dictionary (the bible of legal definitions):
2. A preconceived judgment or opinion formed with
little or no factual basis; a strong and unreasonable dislike or distrust. —
Also termed preconception. — prejudice, vb.
Prejudice literally means “pre judge”. According to www.etymonline.com:
prejudice (n.)
c. 1300, “despite, contempt,” from Old French prejudice ”a prejudice, prejudgment; damage” (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin prejudicium ”injustice,” from Latin praeiudicium ”prior judgment, judicial examination before trial; damage, harm,” from prae- ”before” (see pre-) + iudicium ”judgment,” from iudex (genitive iudicis) “a judge” (see judge (n.)).
Meaning “injury, physical harm” is mid-14c., as is the legal sense of “detriment or damage caused by the violation of a legal right.” Meaning “preconceived opinion” (especially but not necessarily unfavorable) is from late 14c. in English; now usually “decision formed without due examination of the facts or arguments necessary to a just and impartial decision.” To terminate with extreme prejudice ”kill” is by 1972, said to be CIA jargon.
prejudice (v.)
mid-15c., prejudicen, “to injure or be detrimental to,” from prejudice (n.) and from Old French prejudiciier. The meaning “to affect or fill with prejudice, create a prejudice (against)” is from c. 1600. Related: Prejudiced; prejudicing.
Entries linking to prejudice
pre-
word-forming element meaning “before,” from Old French pre- and Medieval Latin pre-, both from Latin prae (adverb and preposition) “before in time or place,” from PIE *peri- (source also of Oscan prai, Umbrian pre, Sanskrit pare ”thereupon,” Greek parai ”at,” Gaulish are- ”at, before,” Lithuanian prie ”at,” Old Church Slavonic pri ”at,” Gothic faura, Old English fore ”before”), extended form of root *per- (1) “forward,” hence “beyond, in front of, before.”
The Latin word was active in forming verbs. Also see prae-. Sometimes in Middle English muddled with words in pro- or per-.
judge (n.)
mid-14c., “public officer appointed to administer the law” (early 13c. as a surname), also judge-man; from Old French juge, from Latin iudex ”one who declares the law” (source also of Spanish juez, Italian giudice), a compound of ius ”right, law” (see just (adj.)) + root of dicere ”to say” (from PIE root *deik- ”to show,” also “pronounce solemnly”).
Extended from late 14c. to persons to decide any sort of contest; from 1550s as “one qualified to pronounce opinion.” In Jewish history, it refers to a war leader vested with temporary power (as in Book of Judges), from Latin iudex being used to translate Hebrew shophet.
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