Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 16 > Chapter 10 - Circuit and Criminal Courts

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Applicant: means a person filing an application for a license under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bank: means any person, as hereinafter defined, doing a banking business subject to the laws of this or any other jurisdiction and, for the purposes of supervision, examination and liquidation, includes industrial investment companies and industrial banks authorized by chapter 5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 45-1-103
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, profession, investment activity and other lawful purpose for gain or the preservation of assets whether or not carried on for profits. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Check: means any payment instrument. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions or the commissioner's designated representative. See Tennessee Code 45-17-102
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of revenue. See Tennessee Code 7-41-103
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Consideration: means and includes any premium charged for the sale of goods, or services provided in connection with the sale of the goods that is in excess of the cash price of the goods or services. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Control: means ownership of, or the power to vote, twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the outstanding voting securities of a licensee controlled by any person. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Cost: means all costs of an economic development project in a district incurred by the municipality or industrial development corporation, including, but not limited to, the cost of developing the district, as well as acquisition, design, construction, renovation, improvement, demolition, and relocation of any improvements. See Tennessee Code 7-41-103
• Currency: includes United States silver certificates, United States notes, and Federal Reserve notes. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deferred presentment services: means a transaction pursuant to a written agreement involving the following combination of activities in exchange for a fee:
  (A) Accepting a check dated on the date it was written. See Tennessee Code 45-17-102
• Department: means the department of financial institutions. See Tennessee Code 45-17-102
• Department: means the department of financial institutions. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• district: means one (1) or more parcels of real property located within a county having a population of not less than one hundred twenty-two thousand nine hundred (122,900) nor more than one hundred twenty-three thousand (123,000), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent census, and which some boundary of the district is no more than one-half (1/2) mile from an existing federally designated interstate exit, is no more than twenty (20) miles from the state border of two (2) neighboring states as measured by straight line, is no larger than a total area of nine hundred fifty (950) acres, and is designated as a regional retail tourism development district by a municipal ordinance and certified by the commissioner. See Tennessee Code 7-41-103
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. ^{Source: U.S. Mint}
• Licensee: means a person licensed to provide deferred presentment services pursuant to this chapter. See Tennessee Code 45-17-102
• Licensee: means a check cashing business licensed by the commissioner to engage in that business in accordance with this chapter. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Licensing authority: means the officer, board, agency, court or other authority in this state empowered to license or otherwise authorize the rendition of a professional service. See Tennessee Code 48-248-102
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mistrial: An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
• Municipality: means an incorporated city located in this state. See Tennessee Code 7-41-103
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• operating: means that:
  (A) A charter has been issued to a bank by the United States comptroller of the currency or a certificate of authority has been issued by the commissioner. See Tennessee Code 45-1-103
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Payment instrument: means a check, draft, warrant, money order, traveler's check or other instrument for payment of money, whether or not negotiable. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Person: means an individual, group of individuals, partnership, association, corporation, or any other business unit or legal entity. See Tennessee Code 45-17-102
• Person: means any individual, partnership, association, trust, corporation, limited liability company, or other group, however organized, but does not include the governments of the United States or this state or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Tennessee Code 45-18-102
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• PLLC: means an LLC, other than a foreign professional LLC, which has elected to become subject to this chapter. See Tennessee Code 48-248-102
• Professional service: means a service that may be lawfully rendered only by a person licensed or otherwise authorized by a licensing authority in this state to render the service and that may not be lawfully rendered by a corporation under the Tennessee Business Corporation Act, compiled in chapters 11-27 of this title or by an LLC under chapters 201-248 of this title. See Tennessee Code 48-248-102
• project: means the provision of direct or indirect financial assistance, including funds for location assistance, to an extraordinary retail or tourism facility and other retail or tourism facilities developed to accompany the extraordinary retail or tourism facility in a regional retail tourism development district by a municipality or an industrial development corporation, including, but not limited to, the purchase, lease, grant, construction, reconstruction, improvement, or other acquisition or conveyance of land, buildings, equipment, or other infrastructure. See Tennessee Code 7-41-103
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Secretary: means the corporate officer to whom the bylaws or the board of directors has delegated responsibility under §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Secretary of state: means the person who holds the office of secretary of state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust company: means a state trust company or any other company chartered to act as a fiduciary that is neither a depository institution nor a foreign bank. See Tennessee Code 45-1-103
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105