Terms Used In Louisiana Codes > Children's Code > Title VIII > Chapter 13 - Adjudication

• 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.
• 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.
• Child: means any person under the age of twenty-one, including an emancipated minor, who commits a delinquent act before attaining seventeen years of age. See Louisiana Children's Code 804
• 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.
• Delinquent act: means an act committed by a child of ten years of age or older which if committed by an adult is designated an offense under the statutes or ordinances of this state, or of another state if the offense occurred there, or under federal law, except traffic violations. See Louisiana Children's Code 804
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Felony-grade delinquent act: means an offense that if committed by an adult, may be punished by death or by imprisonment at hard labor. See Louisiana Children's Code 804
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insanity: means a mental disease or mental illness which renders the child incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong with reference to the conduct in question, as a result of which the child is exempt from criminal responsibility. See Louisiana Children's Code 804
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• 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.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testate: To die leaving a will.
• 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.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.