Terms Used In California Codes > Welfare and Institutions Code > Division 5 > Part 1 - THE LANTERMAN-PETRIS-SHORT ACT

• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Advocacy: means those activities undertaken on behalf of persons who are receiving or have received mental health services to protect their rights or to secure or upgrade treatment or other services to which they are entitled. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 5500
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Alcoholic beverage: includes any liquid or solid material intended to be ingested by a person which contains ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol, or alcohol, including, but not limited to, alcoholic beverages as defined in §. See California Vehicle Code 109
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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.
• application: means an application for the initiation of proceedings for the formation of a district under the provisions of the Knox-Nisbet Act, Chapter 6. See California Water Code 71052
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• board of supervisors: means the board of supervisors of the principal county. See California Water Code 71051
• business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
• City: includes every city and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 255
• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town. See California Streets and Highways Code 15
• client: means a person who is receiving or has received services from a mental health facility, service, or program and who has personally or through a guardian ad litem, entered into an agreement with a county patients' rights advocate for the provision of advocacy services. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 5500
• commission: means the California Transportation Commission. See California Streets and Highways Code 22
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• compliance audit: means an audit that ascertains and verifies whether or not funds provided through apportionment, contract, or grant, either federal or state, have been properly disbursed and expended as required by law or regulation or both and includes the verification of each of the following:

  California Education Code 14501

• Construction: includes :

  California Streets and Highways Code 29

• controlled substances: means those substances referred to in Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 5341
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• County: includes city and county. See California Water Code 14
• County: includes "city and county. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 14
• County: includes every county and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 270
• County: includes "city and county. See California Streets and Highways Code 14
• county clerk: means the county clerk of the principal county. See California Water Code 71050
• custody: means the legal right to custody of the child unless that right is held jointly by two or more persons, in which case "custody" means the physical custody of the child by one of the persons sharing the right to custody. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 17.1
• Dealer: is a person not otherwise expressly excluded by Section 286 who:

  California Vehicle Code 285

• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
• Department: means the Department of Transportation of this state. See California Streets and Highways Code 20
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• district: means the district within which lie the lands deemed by the legislative body to be benefited by the establishment of the pedestrian mall, the boundaries of which have been finally fixed and established pursuant to Section 11500, and in this event such district so established shall be the "district" within the meaning of this chapter even though the legislative body may have determined pursuant to Section 11505 that assessments shall not be levied as contemplated by Section 11202. See California Streets and Highways Code 11800
• driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
• drug: means any substance or combination of substances, other than alcohol, which could so affect the nervous system, brain, or muscles of a person as to impair, to an appreciable degree, his ability to drive a vehicle in the manner that an ordinarily prudent and cautious man, in full possession of his faculties, using reasonable care, would drive a similar vehicle under like conditions. See California Vehicle Code 312
• 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}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
• highway: includes bridges, culverts, curbs, drains, and all works incidental to highway construction, improvement, and maintenance. See California Streets and Highways Code 23
• 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.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• judicially committed: means all of the following:

  California Welfare and Institutions Code 5008.1

• 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}
• legal owner: is a person holding a security interest in a vehicle which is subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, or the lessor of a vehicle to the State or to any county, city, district, or political subdivision of the State, or to the United States, under a lease, lease-sale, or rental-purchase agreement which grants possession of the vehicle to the lessee for a period of 30 consecutive days or more. See California Vehicle Code 370
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• maintenance: includes any of the following:

  California Streets and Highways Code 27

• motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
• 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 California Welfare and Institutions Code 16
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• owner: is a person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether or not such person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 460
• parent: means the natural, adoptive, or foster parent of a pupil, a surrogate parent, a family member acting on behalf of the parent, or any person having legal authority to make educational decisions on behalf of a pupil. See California Education Code 51131
• 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.
• Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Water Code 19
• Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
• Person: means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization, limited liability company, or business trust. See California Streets and Highways Code 19
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 12.2
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Water Code 18
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Water Code 10
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• traffic: includes pedestrians, ridden animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel. See California Vehicle Code 620
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.