Terms Used In California Codes > Health and Safety Code > Division 2 > Chapter 2.35 > Article 1

• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
• 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.
• Misdemeanor: Usually a petty offense, a less serious crime than a felony, punishable by less than a year of confinement.
• Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
• person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.