Terms Used In Louisiana Codes > Civil Code > PRELIMINARY TITLE > Title XXIII > Chapter 2 > Section 1 - Notion and Kinds of Possession

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Discharge: means the full or conditional release from a treatment facility of any minor admitted or otherwise detained under this Title. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• 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.
• Mental Health Advocacy Service: means a service established by the state of Louisiana for the purpose of providing legal counsel and representation for persons with mental disabilities and for children and to ensure that their legal rights are protected. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• MHAS: means Mental Health Advocacy Service, as established by La. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Patient: means any person detained and taken care of as a person with mental illness or person suffering from substance abuse. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Person with mental illness: means any person with a psychiatric disorder which has substantial adverse effects on his ability to function and who requires care and treatment. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Respondent: means a person alleged to be mentally ill or suffering from substance abuse and for whom an application for commitment to a treatment facility has been filed. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Substance abuse: means the condition of a person who uses narcotic, stimulant, depressant, soporific, tranquilizing, or hallucinogenic drugs or alcohol to the extent that it renders the person dangerous to himself or others or renders the person gravely disabled. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Treatment: means an active effort to accomplish an improvement in the mental condition or behavior of a patient or to prevent deterioration in his condition or behavior. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404