Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 30 > Chapter 6 > Article 1 - General Provisions

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• 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.
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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.
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Population: means the population according to the most recent United States decennial census. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Retail electric customer: means a person that purchases electricity for that person's own use, including use in that person's trade or business, and not for resale, redistribution or retransmission. See Arizona Laws 30-801
• Service territory: means the geographic area in which a public power entity or public service corporation owns, operates, controls or maintains either electric distribution facilities or natural gas distribution facilities and that additional area in which the public power entity or public service corporation has agreed to extend electric distribution facilities or natural gas distribution facilities, whether established by a certificate of convenience and necessity, by official action by a public power entity or by contract or agreement. See Arizona Laws 30-801
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.