In legal writing (case books, etc.), what do you call three asterisks
centered between blocks of text.  The asterisks are used similar to
ellipses, but they usually represent large portions of ommitted text.

Howdy dcsatt-ga,

As the dotted version, they are also called ellipsis or (plural) ellipses.

From the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual 2000 section
on punctuation.
http://nsdsa.phdnswc.navy.mil/tmmp/styleman2000/chapter_txt-8.html

"8.76. Three asterisks (preferred form) or three periods, separated by en
spaces, are used to denote an ellipsis ...
...
8.78. When periods are not specifically requested for ellipses in copy that
has both periods and asterisks, asterisks will be used."

From the free encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis

"In printing and writing, an ellipsis (plural: ellipses) is a row of three
dots (...) or asterisks (* * *) indicating an intentional omission."

From Webster's 1913 Dictionary.
http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/ellipsis

Ellipsis ... (Printing) a printing symbol, usually three periods in a row
(...), indicating the omission of some part of a text ... three asterisks
(* * *) are sometimes used with the same meaning."

If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.


Search strategy:

Google search on: asterisks ellipses style
://www.google.com/search?q=asterisks+ellipses+style

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Very quick and precise.  Not a very BIG question, but I was impressed
by the speedy response.  Great job.

Appreciate the nice comments and the 5 star rating, dcsatt-ga.

We aim to please, and it was my pleasure.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Here's an interesting, related term:

Three asterisks arranged in a triangle is an "asterism." 

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