Terms Used In New York Laws > Public Health > Article 21 > Title 6 - Poliomyelitis and Other Diseases

• 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.
• 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.
• Bridge: means a structure including supports erected over a depression or an obstruction such as water, highway, or railway, having a track or passageway for carrying traffic or other moving loads and having an opening measured along the center of the track or roadway of more than twenty feet between under croppings of abutments or spring lines or arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes and may include multiple pipes where the clear distance between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Culvert: means a structure whether of single or multiple span construction within an interior width of twenty feet or less when measurement is made horizontally along the center line of roadway from face to face of abutments or sidewalls immediately below the copings or fillets; or, if there are no copings or fillets at points six inches below the bridge seats or immediately under the top slab in the case of frame structures. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public entity: means any department, board, bureau, commission or agency of the state or its political subdivisions, public benefit corporation or any public authority including the port authority of New York and New Jersey. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Railroad: means a private or public railroad operating in the state of New York carrying either freight, passengers or freight and passengers including, but not limited to, those operated by the metropolitan transportation authority and its subsidiaries, the Long Island Rail Road, the metro-north railroad, the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, the New York city transit authority or any other public authority or local government and shall include tourist excursion operations and railrides on standard gauge tracks. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Railroad bridge: means a structure including supports erected over a depression or an obstruction such as water, highway, or railway, having a track or tracks for carrying freight or passengers or other moving loads and having an opening measured along the center of the track or roadway of more than twenty feet between under croppings of abutments or spring lines or arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes and may include multiple pipes where the clear distance between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening whether privately or publicly owned. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substantial structural alteration: means any work that modifies the load capacity, loan distribution or load paths or structural behavior of the bridge. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.