Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 12 > Chapter 7 > Article 2 - Actions Against Public Entities or Public Employees

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Employee: includes an officer, director, employee or servant, whether or not compensated or part time, who is authorized to perform any act or service, except that employee does not include an independent contractor. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Injury: means death, injury to a person, damage to or loss of property or any other injury that a person may suffer that would be actionable if inflicted by a private person. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• 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.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Maintenance: means the establishment or continuation in existence of facilities, highways, roads, streets, bridges or rights-of-way by a public entity and does not mean or refer to ordinary repair or upkeep. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• Minor: means a person under eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Prisoner: means a person incarcerated while awaiting sentence or while serving a sentence imposed by a court of law. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Public employee: means an employee of a public entity. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• Public entity: includes this state and any political subdivision of this state. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• State: means this state and any state agency, board, commission or department. See Arizona Laws 12-820
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215