Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes > Chapter 50 - Witnesses

• Adult: means a person who has attained the age of 18 years. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• 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.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Benefits: means all money payable by the United States through the Department of Veterans Affairs. See Nevada Revised Statutes 160.020
• Broker: means a person lawfully engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities or commodities for his or her own account or for the account of others. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Conservator: means a person appointed or qualified by a court to act as general, limited or temporary guardian of a minor"s property or any other person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Consumer lease: means a lease that a lessor regularly engaged in the business of leasing or selling makes to a lessee who is a natural person and who takes under the lease primarily for a personal, family or household purpose. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• controlled substance: means a drug, immediate precursor or other substance which is listed in schedule I, II, III, IV or V for control by the State Board of Pharmacy pursuant to NRS 453. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.031
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Court: means the district court. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Custodial property: means :

  (a) Any interest in property transferred to a custodian in a manner prescribed in this chapter; and

  (b) The income from and the proceeds of that interest in property. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020

• Custodian: means a person so designated in a manner prescribed in this chapter. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Department of Veterans Affairs: means the Department of Veterans Affairs, its predecessors or successors. See Nevada Revised Statutes 160.020
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• 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}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fault: means wrongful act, omission, breach or default. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Finance lease: means a lease with respect to which:

  (1) The lessor does not select, manufacture or supply the goods;

  (2) The lessor acquires the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods in connection with the lease; and

  (3) One of the following occurs:

  (I) The lessee receives a copy of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods before signing the lease contract;

  (II) The lessee"s approval of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods is a condition to effectiveness of the lease contract;

  (III) The lessee, before signing the lease contract, receives an accurate and complete statement designating the promises and warranties, and any disclaimers of warranties, limitations or modifications of remedies, or liquidated damages, including those of a third party, such as the manufacturer of the goods, provided to the lessor by the person supplying the goods in connection with or as part of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods; or

  (IV) If the lease is not a consumer lease, the lessor, before the lessee signs the lease contract, informs the lessee in writing of the identity of the person supplying the goods to the lessor, unless the lessee has selected that person and directed the lessor to acquire the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods from that person, that the lessee is entitled under this Article to the promises and warranties, including those of any third party, provided to the lessor by the person supplying the goods in connection with or as part of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods, and that the lessee may communicate with the person supplying the goods to the lessor and receive an accurate and complete statement of those promises and warranties, including any disclaimers and limitations of them or of remedies. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103

• Financial institution: means a bank, trust company, savings institution or credit union chartered and supervised under federal law or the laws of a state. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• 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.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Goods: means all things that are movable at the time of identification to the lease contract, or are fixtures (NRS 104A. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• 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 any person acting as a fiduciary for a ward. See Nevada Revised Statutes 160.020
• 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.
• income: include only money received by the guardian from the Department of Veterans Affairs and all earnings, interest and profits derived therefrom. See Nevada Revised Statutes 160.020
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Lease: means a transfer of the right to possession and use of goods for a term in return for consideration, but a sale, including a sale on approval or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a security interest is not a lease. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• 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}
• Lease agreement: means the bargain, with respect to the lease, of the lessor and the lessee in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances including course of dealing or usage of trade or course of performance as provided in this Article. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Lease contract: means the total legal obligation that results from the lease agreement as affected by this Article and any other applicable rules of law. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Leasehold interest: means the interest of the lessor or the lessee under a lease contract. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Legal representative: means a personal representative or conservator. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Lessee: means a person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Lessor: means a person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lien: means a charge against or interest in goods to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation, but the term does not include a security interest. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Minor: means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Mistrial: An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• mortgage: includes a deed of trust. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.037
• 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: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Person: means any natural person, corporation, organization or other legal entity. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal representative: means an executor, administrator, successor personal representative or special administrator of a decedent"s estate or any other person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• physician: means a person who engages in the practice of medicine, including osteopathy and homeopathy. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.040
• 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.
• population: means the number of people in a specified area as determined by the last preceding national decennial census conducted by the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce pursuant to Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States and reported by the Secretary of Commerce to the Governor pursuant to 13 U. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.050
• 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}
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• 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.
• Purchase: includes taking by sale, lease, mortgage, security interest, pledge, gift or any other voluntary transaction creating an interest in goods. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• 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.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of the United States or the Secretary"s successor. See Nevada Revised Statutes 160.020
• 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.
• State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Sublease: means a lease of goods the right to possession and use of which was acquired by the lessor as a lessee under an existing lease. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supplier: means a person from whom a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased under a finance lease. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Supply contract: means a contract under which a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased. See Nevada Revised Statutes 104A.2103
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Transfer: means a transaction which creates custodial property in a manner prescribed in this chapter. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Transferor: means a person who makes a transfer in a manner prescribed in this chapter. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust company: means a financial institution, corporation or other legal entity authorized to exercise general trust powers. See Nevada Revised Statutes 167.020
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Voir dire: The process by which judges and lawyers select a petit jury from among those eligible to serve, by questioning them to determine knowledge of the facts of the case and a willingness to decide the case only on the evidence presented in court. "Voir dire" is a phrase meaning "to speak the truth."
• Ward: means a beneficiary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. See Nevada Revised Statutes 160.020
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.