Terms Used In New York Laws > Penal > Part 3 > Title L - Offenses Against Public Administration

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• 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.
• balance sheet liability contribution: when used in relation to the New York city employees' retirement system, shall mean a payment of contribution which is required by the provisions of item (iv) of subparagraph (a) of paragraph one of subdivision b of section 13-127 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be made to such retirement system with respect to any fiscal year of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• Bank: means a bank, trust company, private banker, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, investment company organized under article twelve of this chapter and authorized to accept deposits, national bank, federal savings association, federal credit union, or out-of-state state bank, as such term is defined in subdivision two of section two hundred twenty-two of this chapter, having a principal, branch or trust office in this state. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• 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.
• board of trustees: means the board of trustees of the city university of New York. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• certified ESL school: shall mean a language school conducted for-profit which provides instruction in English as a second language and which accepts no public funds and is certified pursuant to paragraph f of subdivision four of this section; and
  
  c. See N.Y. Education Law 5001
• city university: shall mean the city university of New York, including each senior college and each community college. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• 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.
• community college: shall mean an institution of higher education in the city of New York, which is governed and administered as such, by the board of trustees on July first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine, whose primary purpose is providing certificate and associate degree post secondary programs in general and technical educational subjects, and is receiving financial assistance from the state as a community college. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contributions for twenty-year amortization of nineteen hundred ninety senior college consolidated UAL and senior college remainder of BSL: shall mean all of the installments of contribution and contributions referred to in subdivisions 8-i to 8-n, inclusive, of this section which are required to be paid by the city and the state during the applicable twenty-year amortization period pursuant to section sixty-two hundred thirty-one of this article and the applicable provisions of subdivision bb of section 13-638. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• 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.
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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.
• 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.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dower: A widow
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• 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}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• 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.
• 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,
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Immediate family member: means a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• Individual: means a natural person. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insured: means a person who enters into a premium finance agreement with a premium finance agency or makes and delivers a premium finance agreement to, or to the order of, an insurance agent or broker, whether or not he is insured under an insurance contract, premiums for which are advanced or to be advanced under the premium finance agreement. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• 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}
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• 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.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• 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}
• Lending institution: means a bank or a lender licensed pursuant to article nine of this chapter. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loan processor or underwriter: means an individual who performs clerical or support duties as an employee at the direction of and subject to the supervision and instruction of a person licensed, or exempt from licensing, under this article, provided that such individual does not represent to the public, through advertising or other means of communicating or providing information, including the use of business cards, stationery, brochures, signs, rate lists, or other promotional items, that such individual can or will perform any of the activities of a mortgage loan originator. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• mayor: shall mean the mayor of the city of New York. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• mortgage banker: shall mean a person or entity who or which is licensed pursuant to section five hundred ninety-one of this chapter to engage in the business of making mortgage loans in this state;
  
  (g) "Registrant" or "mortgage broker" shall mean a person or entity registered pursuant to section five hundred ninety-one-a of this chapter to engage in the business of soliciting, processing, placing or negotiating mortgage loans for others, or offering to solicit, process, place or negotiate mortgage loans for others;
  
  (h) "Mortgage loan servicer" or "servicer" shall mean a person or entity registered pursuant to subdivision two of this section to engage in the business of servicing mortgage loans for property located in this state;
  
  (i) "Servicing mortgage loans" shall mean receiving any scheduled periodic payments from a borrower pursuant to the terms of any mortgage loan, including amounts for escrow accounts under section six-k of this chapter, title three-A of Article 9 of the real property tax law or section ten of 12 U. See N.Y. Banking Law 590
• Mortgage loan: shall mean a loan to a natural person made primarily for personal, family or household use, secured by either a mortgage or deed of trust on residential real property, any certificate of stock or other evidence of ownership in, and proprietary lease from, a corporation or partnership formed for the purpose of cooperative ownership of residential real property or, if determined by the superintendent by regulation, shall include such a loan secured by a security interest on a manufactured home;
  
  (b) "Residential real property" shall mean real property located in this state improved by a one-to-four family dwelling used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, wholly or partly, as the home or residence of one or more persons, but shall not refer to unimproved real property upon which such dwellings are to be constructed;
  
  (c) "Making a mortgage loan" shall mean for compensation or gain, either directly or indirectly, advancing funds, offering to advance funds, or making a commitment to advance funds to an applicant for a mortgage loan or a mortgagor as a mortgage loan;
  
  (d) "Soliciting, processing, placing or negotiating a mortgage loan" shall mean for compensation or gain, either directly or indirectly, accepting or offering to accept an application for a mortgage loan, assisting or offering to assist in the processing of an application for a mortgage loan, soliciting or offering to solicit a mortgage loan on behalf of a third party or negotiating or offering to negotiate the terms or conditions of a mortgage loan with a lender on behalf of a third party;
  
  (e) "Exempt organization" shall mean any insurance company, banking organization, foreign banking corporation licensed by the superintendent or the comptroller of the currency to transact business in this state, national bank, federal savings bank, federal savings and loan association, federal credit union, or any bank, trust company, savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union organized under the laws of any other state, or any instrumentality created by the United States or any state with the power to make mortgage loans. See N.Y. Banking Law 590
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgage Loan Originator: means an individual who for compensation or gain or in the expectation of compensation or gain:
  
  (i) takes a residential mortgage loan application; or
  
  (ii) offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• nineteen hundred eighty unfunded accrued liability adjustment: when used in relation to the New York city employees' retirement system, shall mean the total amount which is determined pursuant to the provisions of items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) of subparagraph (c) of paragraph (3) of subdivision b of section 13-127 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be the amount to be paid as a charge or applied as a credit, as the case may be, pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of such subdivision b, with respect to employer contributions to such retirement system for any fiscal year of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• nineteen hundred eighty-two unfunded accrued liability adjustment: when used in relation to the New York city employees' retirement system, shall mean the total amount which is determined pursuant to the provisions of item (vi) of subparagraph (c) of paragraph three of subdivision b of section 13-127 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be the amount to be applied as a credit pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of such subdivision b, with respect to employer contributions to such retirement system for any fiscal year of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• 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.
• Nontraditional mortgage product: means , for purposes of this article, any mortgage product other than a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• NYCERS nineteen hundred eighty-five unfunded accrued liability adjustment attributable to the senior colleges: shall mean the total amount which is determined pursuant to the provisions of sub-items (H), (I), (J) and (J-1) of item (vii) of subparagraph (c) of paragraph three of subdivision b of section 13-127 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be the amount to be applied as a credit in favor of the city of New York and the state of New York with respect to their required contributions to the contingent reserve fund of the New York city employees' retirement system for any fiscal year of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• NYCTRS installment of nineteen hundred ninety BSL contribution attributable to the senior colleges: shall mean any installment defined in paragraph forty-eight of subdivision a of section 13-638. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• NYCTRS nineteen hundred eighty-five unfunded accrued liability adjustment: shall mean the total amount which is determined pursuant to the provisions of paragraph ten of subdivision e of section 13-527 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be the amount to be applied as a credit, pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph c-1 of paragraph two of subdivision a of such section 13-527, with respect to employer contributions to the New York city teachers' retirement system for fiscal years of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• NYCTRS nineteen hundred eighty-six unfunded accrued liability adjustment: shall mean the total amount which is determined pursuant to the provisions of paragraph eleven of subdivision e of section 13-527 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be the amount to be applied as a credit, pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph c-2 of paragraph two of subdivision a of such section 13-527, with respect to employer contributions to the New York city teachers' retirement system for fiscal years of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• 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.
• online education marketplace: shall mean a website or other internet-based online technology tool with which a licensed private career school or certified ESL school contracts for marketing or advertising services, or services in connection with the collection of tuition and/or fees, to the extent authorized in subdivision three of section five thousand four of this article. See N.Y. Education Law 5001
• Originating entity: means a person or entity licensed or registered pursuant to article twelve-D of this chapter or such other employer of mortgage loan originators as the superintendent may approve. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• ownership or control interest: means : with respect to a school that is organized as or owned by a corporation, a position as an officer or director of such corporation; or, with respect to a school that is organized as or owned by a partnership, a position as a partner; or any other interest totaling ten percent or more, whether direct or indirect, in the total equity or assets of such school. See N.Y. Education Law 5001
• 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 an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• Person: means an individual or any corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership, association or other entity. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• 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.
• 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.
• Premium finance agency: means :
  
  (a) a person engaged, in whole or in part, in the business of entering into premium finance agreements with insureds, including a bank if so engaged; or
  
  (b) a person engaged, in whole or in part, in the business of acquiring premium finance agreements from insurance agents or brokers or other premium finance agencies, including a bank if so engaged and an insurance agent or broker who is licensed as a premium finance agency and who holds premium finance agreements made and delivered by insureds to him or his order. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• Premium finance agreement: means a promissory note or other written agreement by which an insured promises or agrees to pay to, or to the order of, either a premium finance agency or an insurance agent or broker the amount advanced or to be advanced under the agreement to an authorized insurer or to an insurance agent or broker in payment of premiums on an insurance contract, together with a service charge as authorized and limited by law. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• 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.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• 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}
• Registered mortgage loan originator: means any individual who:
  
  (a) Meets the definition of mortgage loan originator and is an employee of:
  
  (i) a depository institution;
  
  (ii) a subsidiary that is owned and controlled by a depository institution and regulated by a federal banking agency; or
  
  (iii) an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration; and
  
  (b) Is registered with, and maintains a unique identifier through, the NMLSR. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• 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.
• Residential mortgage loan: shall mean a loan to a natural person made primarily for personal, family or household use, secured by either a mortgage, deed of trust or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwelling (as defined in section 1203(v) of the Truth in Lending Act) or residential real property or any certificate of stock or other evidence of ownership in, and proprietary lease from, a corporation or partnership formed for the purpose of cooperative ownership of residential real property and shall include any refinance or modification of any such existing loan. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Residential real property: shall mean real property located in this state improved by a one-to-four family residence or residential unit in a building used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, wholly or partly, as the home or residence of one or more persons, but shall not refer to unimproved real property upon which such residence is to be constructed. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• revised unfunded accrued liability contribution: when used in relation to the New York city employees' retirement system, shall mean a payment of contribution which is required by the provisions of item (iii) of subparagraph (a) of paragraph one of subdivision b of section 13-127 of the administrative code of the city of New York to be made to such retirement system with respect to any fiscal year of the city preceding July first, nineteen hundred ninety. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• senior college: shall mean an institution of higher education in the city of New York, which is governed and administered by the board of trustees, including, but not limited to, a professional or graduate institution, an institution for research, an administrative institution, and, except as otherwise provided, Medgar Evers college, New York city college of technology (formerly known as "New York city technical college" and "New York city community college"), and the college of Staten Island, but not including a community college. See N.Y. Education Law 6202
• 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.
• 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.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Superintendent: means the superintendent of financial services. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unique identifier: means a number or other identifier assigned by protocols established by the NMLSR. See N.Y. Banking Law 599-B
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Workplace literacy and basic skills education: means those common branch skills and English-as-a-second-language skills that are directly related to the ability to perform occupational tasks. See N.Y. Education Law 5100