Terms Used In California Codes > Penal Code > Part 4 > Title 5 > Chapter 1 - General Provisions

• Abuse: means intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury, or placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to himself or herself, or another. See California Penal Code 13700
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• cohabitant: means two unrelated adult persons living together for a substantial period of time, resulting in some permanency of relationship. See California Penal Code 13700
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Controller: means the State Controller. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 21
• county: includes "city and county". See California Penal Code 7
• County: includes city and county. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 15
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Domestic violence: means abuse committed against an adult or a minor who is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has had a child or is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship. See California Penal Code 13700
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Officer: means any officer or employee of a local police department or sheriff's office, and any peace officer of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the University of California Police Department, or the California State University and College Police Departments, as defined in Section 830. See California Penal Code 13700
• peace officer: signify any one of the officers mentioned in Chapter 4. See California Penal Code 7
• person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• property: includes both real and personal property. See California Penal Code 7
• spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Penal Code 7
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Penal Code 7
• Victim: means a person who is a victim of domestic violence. See California Penal Code 13700