§ 934.01 Legislative findings
§ 934.02 Definitions
§ 934.03 Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited
§ 934.04 Manufacture, distribution, or possession of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices prohibited
§ 934.05 Confiscation of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices
§ 934.06 Prohibition of use as evidence of intercepted wire or oral communications; exception
§ 934.07 Authorization for interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications
§ 934.08 Authorization for disclosure and use of intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communications
§ 934.09 Procedure for interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications
§ 934.10 Civil remedies
§ 934.15 Situations in which law enforcement officer may order telephone line cut, rerouted, or diverted
§ 934.21 Unlawful access to stored communications; penalties
§ 934.215 Unlawful use of a two-way communications device
§ 934.22 Voluntary disclosure of customer communications or records
§ 934.23 Required disclosure of customer communications or records
§ 934.24 Backup preservation; customer notification; challenges by customer
§ 934.25 Delayed notice
§ 934.255 Subpoenas in investigations of sexual offenses
§ 934.26 Cost reimbursement
§ 934.27 Civil action: relief; damages; defenses
§ 934.28 Exclusivity of remedies and sanctions
§ 934.31 General prohibition on pen register and trap and trace device use; exception
§ 934.32 Application for an order for a pen register or a trap and trace device
§ 934.33 Issuance of an order for a pen register or a trap and trace device
§ 934.34 Assistance in installation and use of a pen register or a trap and trace device
§ 934.41 Alternative penalty
§ 934.42 Mobile tracking device authorization
§ 934.425 Installation of tracking devices or tracking applications; exceptions; penalties
§ 934.43 Criminal disclosure of subpoena, order, or authorization
§ 934.50 Searches and seizure using a drone

Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 934 - Security of Communications; Surveillance

  • abandonment: means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no significant contribution to the child's care and maintenance or has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child, or both. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • abandonment of the child: means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no significant contribution to the child's care and maintenance or has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child, or both. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Abuse: means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual abuse, injury, or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child's physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Accreditation: means accredited status awarded to an institution by an accrediting agency or association that is recognized by the United States Department of Education and that has standards comparable to the minimum standards required to operate an educational institution at that level in this state. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • Adjournment sine die: The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of legislature.
  • Adult: means any natural person other than a child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • 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.
  • Agent: means a person who is employed by an independent postsecondary educational institution under the jurisdiction of the Commission for Independent Education, or by an out-of-state independent postsecondary educational institution, and who secures an application or accepts payment of fees from prospective students for the institution at any place other than the legal place of business of the institution. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • Aggrieved person: means a person who was a party to any intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication or a person against whom the interception was directed. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • assessment: means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a child's and caregiver's physical, psychiatric, psychological, or mental health; developmental delays or challenges; and educational, vocational, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child's and caregiver's need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Aural transfer: means a transfer containing the human voice at any point between and including the point of origin and the point of reception. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Avocational: means a course or program the objective of which is not occupational but is only for personal enrichment or enjoyment. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • 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.
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
  • Cease and Desist Letter: A letter requesting that a company stops the activity mentioned in the letter. Source: OCC
  • Circuit: means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Commission: means the Commission for Independent Education. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • 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.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Computer trespasser: means a person who accesses a protected computer without authorization and thus does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to any communication transmitted to, through, or from the protected computer. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Consent: means an agreement, including all of the following:
  • Contents: when used with respect to any wire, oral, or electronic communication, includes any information concerning the substance, purport, or meaning of that communication. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • 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.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Degree: means any educational credential that is generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of an undergraduate, graduate, academic, educational, or professional program of study or any honorary credential conferred for meritorious recognition. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Department: means the Department of Revenue. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Depository: means a depository established by the clerk of the circuit court in each county pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Diligent search: means the efforts of a social service agency to locate a parent or prospective parent whose identity or location is unknown, initiated as soon as the social service agency is made aware of the existence of such parent, with the search progress reported at each court hearing until the parent is either identified and located or the court excuses further search. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Domestic violence: has the meaning set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 39.902
  • Domestic violence center: means an agency that provides services to victims of domestic violence as its primary mission. See Florida Statutes 39.902
  • drugs: means prescription drugs not prescribed for the child or not administered as prescribed, and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Electronic communication: means contact, other than face-to-face contact, facilitated by tools such as telephones, electronic mail or e-mail, webcams, videoconferencing equipment and software or other wired or wireless technologies, or other means of communication to supplement face-to-face contact between a parent and that parent's minor child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Electronic communication: means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photooptical system that affects intrastate, interstate, or foreign commerce, but does not include:
    (a) Any wire or oral communication;
    (b) Any communication made through a tone-only paging device;
    (c) Any communication from an electronic or mechanical device which permits the tracking of the movement of a person or an object; or
    (d) Electronic funds transfer information stored by a financial institution in a communications system used for the electronic storage and transfer of funds. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Electronic communication service: means any service which provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Electronic communications system: means any wire, radio, electromagnetic, photooptical, or photoelectronic facilities for the transmission of wire or electronic communications, and any computer facilities or related electronic equipment for the electronic storage of such communications. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Electronic storage: means :
    (a) Any temporary intermediate storage of a wire or electronic communication incidental to the electronic transmission thereof. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. Source: OCC
  • Family: means a collective body of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, legal custodian, or adult relative, in which:
    (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
    (b) The parent, legal custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • 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.
  • Foreign intelligence information: means information, whether or not concerning a United States person, as that term is defined in 50 U. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • 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.
  • Guardian: means a relative, nonrelative, next of kin, or fictive kin who is awarded physical custody of a child in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Guardian advocate: means a person appointed by the court to act on behalf of a drug dependent newborn under this part. See Florida Statutes 39.820
  • Health insurance: means coverage under a fee-for-service arrangement, health maintenance organization, or preferred provider organization, and other types of coverage available to either parent, under which medical services could be provided to a dependent child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Income: means any form of payment to an individual, regardless of source, including, but not limited to: wages, salary, commissions and bonuses, compensation as an independent contractor, worker's compensation, disability benefits, annuity and retirement benefits, pensions, dividends, interest, royalties, trusts, and any other payments, made by any person, private entity, federal or state government, or any unit of local government. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Independent postsecondary educational institution: means any postsecondary educational institution that operates in this state or makes application to operate in this state, and is not provided, operated, and supported by the State of Florida, its political subdivisions, or the Federal Government. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Intercept: means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Investigative or law enforcement officer: means any officer of the State of Florida or political subdivision thereof, of the United States, or of any other state or political subdivision thereof, who is empowered by law to conduct on behalf of the Government investigations of, or to make arrests for, offenses enumerated in this chapter or similar federal offenses, any attorney authorized by law to prosecute or participate in the prosecution of such offenses, or any other attorney representing the State of Florida or political subdivision thereof in any civil, regulatory, disciplinary, or forfeiture action relating to, based upon, or derived from such offenses. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Judge: means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Judge of competent jurisdiction: means justice of the Supreme Court, judge of a district court of appeal, circuit judge, or judge of any court of record having felony jurisdiction of the State of Florida, irrespective of the geographic location or jurisdiction where the judge presides. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • 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.
  • Law enforcement agency: means an agency of the State of Florida or a political subdivision thereof or of the United States if the primary responsibility of the agency is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of this state and if its agents and officers are empowered by law to conduct criminal investigations and to make arrests. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • 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
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • License: means a certificate signifying that an independent postsecondary educational institution meets standards prescribed in statute or rule and is permitted to operate in this state. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • Licensed health care professional: means a physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, a nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • National medical support notice: means the notice required under 42 U. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Necessary medical treatment: means care which is necessary within a reasonable degree of medical certainty to prevent the deterioration of a child's condition or to alleviate immediate pain of a child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • 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 affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • 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.
  • Obligee: means the person to whom payments are made pursuant to an order establishing, enforcing, or modifying an obligation for alimony, for child support, or for alimony and child support. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Obligor: means a person responsible for making payments pursuant to an order establishing, enforcing, or modifying an obligation for alimony, for child support, or for alimony and child support. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Office: means the Office of Adoption and Child Protection within the Executive Office of the Governor. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Oral communication: means any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation and does not mean any public oral communication uttered at a public meeting or any electronic communication. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Parenting plan: means a document created to govern the relationship between the parents relating to decisions that must be made regarding the minor child and must contain a time-sharing schedule for the parents and child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Parenting plan recommendation: means a nonbinding recommendation concerning one or more elements of a parenting plan made by a court-appointed mental health practitioner or other professional designated pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • 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.
  • Party: means the parent or parents of the child, the petitioner, the department, the guardian ad litem or the representative of the guardian ad litem program when the program has been appointed, and the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Payor: means an employer or former employer or any other person or agency providing or administering income to the obligor. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Pen register: means a device or process that records or decodes dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is transmitted, but such information does not include the contents of any communication. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Person: means any employee or agent of the State of Florida or political subdivision thereof, of the United States, or of any other state or political subdivision thereof, and any individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, or corporation. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • 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.
  • political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Protected computer: means :
    (a) A computer for the exclusive use of a financial institution or governmental entity;
    (b) A computer that is not for the exclusive use of a financial institution or governmental entity, but that is used by or for a financial institution or governmental entity and with respect to which unlawful conduct can affect the use by or for the financial institution or governmental entity; or
    (c) A computer that is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Protective investigation: means the acceptance of a report alleging child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as defined in this chapter, by the central abuse hotline or the acceptance of a report of other dependency by the department; the investigation of each report; the determination of whether action by the court is warranted; the determination of the disposition of each report without court or public agency action when appropriate; and the referral of a child to another public or private agency when appropriate. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Readily accessible to the general public: means , with respect to a radio communication, that such communication is not:
    (a) Scrambled or encrypted;
    (b) Transmitted using modulation techniques whose essential parameters have been withheld from the public with the intention of preserving the privacy of such communication;
    (c) Carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary to a radio transmission;
    (d) Transmitted over a communications system provided by a common carrier, unless the communication is a tone-only paging system communication; or
    (e) Transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25; subpart D, subpart E, or subpart F of part 74; or part 94 of the Rules of the Federal Communications Commission, unless, in the case of a communication transmitted on a frequency allocated under part 74 that is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary services, the communication is a two-way voice communication by radio. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • registered mail: include certified mail with return receipt requested. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Relative: means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • 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.
  • Remote computing service: means the provision to the public of computer storage or processing services by means of an electronic communications system. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Safety plan: means a plan created to control present or impending danger using the least intrusive means appropriate to protect a child when a parent, caregiver, or legal custodian is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • School: means any nonpublic postsecondary noncollegiate educational institution, association, corporation, person, partnership, or organization of any type which:
    (a) Offers to provide or provides any complete, or substantially complete, postsecondary program of instruction through the student's personal attendance; in the presence of an instructor; in a classroom, clinical, or other practicum setting; or through correspondence or other distance education;
    (b) Represents, directly or by implication, that the instruction will qualify the student for employment in an occupation for which a degree is not required in order to practice in this state;
    (c) Receives remuneration from the student or any other source based on the enrollment of a student or the number of students enrolled; or
    (d) Offers to award or awards a diploma, regardless of whether it conducts instruction or receives remuneration. See Florida Statutes 1005.02
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • 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.
  • Shared parental responsibility: means a court-ordered relationship in which both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their child and in which both parents confer with each other so that major decisions affecting the welfare of the child will be determined jointly. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Shelter: means a placement with a relative or a nonrelative, or in a licensed home or facility, for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be dependent, pending court disposition before or after adjudication. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Social worker: means any person who has a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in social work. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Sole parental responsibility: means a court-ordered relationship in which one parent makes decisions regarding the minor child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other possession or territory of the United States. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • State Case Registry: means the automated registry maintained by the Title IV-D agency, containing records of each Title IV-D case and of each support order established or modified in the state on or after October 1, 1998. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • State Disbursement Unit: means the unit established and operated by the Title IV-D agency to provide one central address for collection and disbursement of child support payments made in cases enforced by the department pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and in cases not being enforced by the department in which the support order was initially issued in this state on or after January 1, 1994, and in which the obligor's child support obligation is being paid through income deduction order. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Subpoena: means any administrative subpoena authorized by federal or Florida law, federal or Florida grand jury subpoena, or any criminal investigative subpoena as authorized by Florida statute which may be utilized on behalf of the government by an investigative or law enforcement officer. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Substance abuse: means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Support order: means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary or final, issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative agency for the support and maintenance of a child which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or past support. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Time-sharing schedule: means a timetable that must be included in the parenting plan that specifies the time, including overnights and holidays, that a minor child will spend with each parent. See Florida Statutes 61.046
  • 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.
  • Trap and trace device: means a device or process that captures the incoming electronic or other impulses that identify the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information reasonably likely to identify the source of a wire or electronic communication, but such information does not include the contents of any communication. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
  • User: means any person or entity who:
    (a) Uses an electronic communication service, and
    (b) Is duly authorized by the provider of such service to engage in such use. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. Source: OCC
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • Victim: means any child who has sustained or is threatened with physical, mental, or emotional injury identified in a report involving child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, or child-on-child sexual abuse. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Wire communication: means any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable, or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception including the use of such connection in a switching station furnished or operated by any person engaged in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate, or foreign communications or communications affecting intrastate, interstate, or foreign commerce. See Florida Statutes 934.02
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01