Terms Used In New York Laws > Vehicle and Traffic > Title 3 - Safety Responsibility; Financial Security; Equipment; Inspection; Size and Weight; and Other Provisions

• Abused child: means a child or youth who has been subjected to "physical abuse" "sexual abuse" and/or "psychological abuse" as defined in section four hundred eighty-eight of the New York state social services law while in the custody of ACS. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Access: means to instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve from, or otherwise make use of any resources of a computer, physically, directly or by electronic means. See N.Y. Penal Law 156.00
• ACS: means the administration for children's services, or any successor agency charged with operating the city's child welfare system. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• 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.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Applicant: shall mean , if a business entity submitting an application for registration, the entity and all the principals thereof; if an individual submitting an application for a photo identification card, such individual. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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.
• 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}
• Bequeath: To gift property by will.
• Bondholder: shall mean and include any person, firm, association or corporation owning or holding a mortgage investment. See N.Y. Real Property Law 125
• Building: means a multi-unit building or buildings, or a group of buildings whether or not attached to each other, comprising a part of the property. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• certificate of insurance: shall mean any evidence issued by or on behalf of an insurance company duly authorized to transact business in this state, stating in such form as the commissioner may prescribe or approve that such company has issued an owner's policy of liability insurance on the motor vehicle or vehicles designated therein. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Child: means "youth" as defined in this section. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Commissioner: shall mean the commissioner of consumer and worker protection. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 20-102
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of ACS. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Commissioner: shall mean the commissioner of the New York city department of small business services. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Committee: shall mean and include a person or group of persons, however known or designated, appointed by agreement, assignment, proxy, consent, authorization, power of attorney, or other similar instrument to act as an agency to receive and hold mortgage investments deposited by bondholders and to administer or do any act in respect to the same for the bondholders. See N.Y. Real Property Law 125
• Common charges: means each unit's proportionate share of the common expenses in accordance with its common interest. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Common expenses: means and includes:

  (a) Expenses of operation of the property, and

  (b) All sums designated common expenses by or pursuant to the provisions of this article, the declaration or the by-laws. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E

• Common interest: means the (i) proportionate, undivided interest in fee simple absolute, or (ii) proportionate undivided leasehold interest in the common elements appertaining to each unit, as expressed in the declaration. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• 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.
• Common profits: means the excess of all receipts of the rents, profits and revenues from the common elements remaining after the deduction of the common expenses. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Computer: means a device or group of devices which, by manipulation of electronic, magnetic, optical or electrochemical impulses, pursuant to a computer program, can automatically perform arithmetic, logical, storage or retrieval operations with or on computer data, and includes any connected or directly related device, equipment or facility which enables such computer to store, retrieve or communicate to or from a person, another computer or another device the results of computer operations, computer programs or computer data. See N.Y. Penal Law 156.00
• Computer network: means the interconnection of hardwire or wireless communication lines with a computer through remote terminals, or a complex consisting of two or more interconnected computers. See N.Y. Penal Law 156.00
• Computer service: means any and all services provided by or through the facilities of any computer communication system allowing the input, output, examination, or transfer, of computer data or computer programs from one computer to another. See N.Y. Penal Law 156.00
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• conveyance: as used in this article , includes every instrument, in writing, except a will, by which any estate or interest in real property is created, transferred, assigned or surrendered. See N.Y. Real Property Law 240
• conveyance: includes every written instrument, by which any estate or interest in real property is created, transferred, mortgaged or assigned, or by which the title to any real property may be affected, including an instrument in execution of a power, although the power be one of revocation only, and an instrument postponing or subordinating a mortgage lien; except a will, a lease for a term not exceeding three years, an executory contract for the sale or purchase of lands, and an instrument containing a power to convey real property as the agent or attorney for the owner of such property. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Declaration: means the instrument by which the property is submitted to the provisions of this article, as hereinafter provided, and such instrument as from time to time amended, consistent with the provisions of this article and of the by-laws. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• 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.
• Department: shall mean the department of consumer and worker protection. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 20-102
• Department: shall mean the New York city department of small business services. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Depositary: shall mean and include any person, firm, association or corporation designated in any trust indenture, deed of trust, or deposit agreement as the custodian or depositary of mortgage investments. See N.Y. Real Property Law 125
• 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.
• Detention: means the temporary care and maintenance of youth held:

  1. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901

• Detention facility: means a facility, certified by the New York state office of children and family services, for the care of youth detained in accordance with the provisions of the family court act, regulations of the New York state office of children and family services, and the criminal procedure law. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• 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.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Dower: A widow
• Electronic: means of or relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• Electronic signature: means an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Emergency removal: means the removal of a child from such child's place of residence or from the custody of such child's parent, or person legally responsible for the child, pursuant to section 1024 of the family court act. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Employee: shall mean a person who works or who expects to work in a market on a full-time, part-time or seasonal basis for a wholesaler or market business, but shall not include persons hired to work on an occasional basis. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• 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.
• Excess shares: shall mean eligible aggregate employment shares that are apportioned pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision to a relocation in excess of the limitation amount defined in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph for such relocation. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-621
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Federal prosecutor: A lawyer appointed by the President in each judicial district to prosecute and defend cases for the federal government.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Felony: A crime carrying a penalty of more than a year in prison.
• Felony: as used in this article means any felony defined in the laws of this state or any offense defined in the laws of any other jurisdiction for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of one year is authorized in this state. See N.Y. Penal Law 156.00
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• financial security bond: shall mean for each motor vehicle a bond executed by the owner and by a surety company duly authorized to transact business in this state. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• financial security deposit: shall mean for each motor vehicle the deposit with the commissioner of twenty-five thousand dollars in cash, or securities, such as may legally be purchased by savings banks or trust funds, of a market value of twenty-five thousand dollars and an additional deposit in an amount determined by the commissioner to be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Article 51 of the insurance law. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• Fiscal year: means the fiscal year for the city of New York. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• 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).
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• 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}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{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.
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.
• 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.
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insurance Identification Card: shall mean a card issued by or on behalf of an insurance company or bonding company duly authorized to transact business in this state, stating in such form as the commissioner may prescribe or approve that such company has issued an owner's policy of liability insurance or a financial security bond on the motor vehicle or vehicles designated therein. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• interest in real property: include every such estate and interest, freehold or chattel, legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent. See N.Y. Real Property Law 240
• 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}
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• 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.
• 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}
• Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensing authority: means the regents of the university of the state of New York or the state education department, as the case may be, in the case of all professions licensed under title eight of the education law, and the appropriate appellate division of the supreme court in the case of the profession of law. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• limitation amount: shall mean :

  (A) for one or more relocations in an eligible business' latest year of relocation as determined pursuant to subdivision (j) of this section, the amount, if any, by which the number of aggregate employment shares maintained by the eligible business in the eligible area in the taxable year in which it is claiming the credit authorized by this article exceeds the number of aggregate employment shares maintained by it in the eligible area in the taxable year immediately preceding such year of relocation; or

  (B) for one or more relocations in a specified year of relocation that is not the latest such year of relocation by an eligible business, the amount, if any, by which the number of aggregate employment shares maintained by the eligible business in the eligible area in the taxable year in which it is claiming the credit authorized by this chapter exceeds the sum of (I) the number of total attributed eligible aggregate employment shares that are attributed in the taxable year in which the credit is claimed to relocations that took place in years of relocation later than the specified year of relocation and (II) the number of aggregate employment shares maintained by it in the eligible area in the taxable year immediately preceding such specified year of relocation. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-621

• limited partnership: means a limited partnership formed under the laws of this state; and the terms "general partner" "limited partner" and "majority in interest of the limited partners" shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in article eight-A of the partnership law; and the term "partnership" shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Article 2 of the partnership law. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1006
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• manufactured home: means a mobile home or manufactured home as defined in section one hundred twenty-two-c of this chapter. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• market: shall mean any building, structure or place owned by the city or located on property owned by the city or under lease to or in the possession of the city or any part of a street, avenue, parkway, plaza, square or other public place designated as a public market by resolution of the former board of estimate of the city or a local law enacted by the city council to be used or intended to be used for the wholesale buying, selling or keeping of food, flowers or ornamental plants and shall continue to be public property notwithstanding that such public wholesale market is operated pursuant to a lease or other agreement with a non-governmental entity; except that the term "public wholesale market" shall not, unless otherwise set forth in this chapter, include any building, structure or place within the fulton fish market distribution area or other seafood distribution area as defined in section 22-202 of this code. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Market business: shall mean any business located or operating within a market that is engaged in providing goods or services to wholesalers or retail purchasers in such market that are related to the conduct of a wholesale business or the purchase of food or related agricultural products or horticultural products by retailers or others, or that receives such goods within a market for delivery, forwarding, transfer or further distribution outside such market. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Mechanical restraint: means the use of a mechanical device to restrict the movement or normal function of a portion of a child's body, including but not limited to, handcuffs, leg cuffs, daisy chains or waist restraint. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• merger: means a procedure in which two or more limited liability companies or other business entities merge into a single limited liability company or other business entity that shall be one of the constituent limited liability companies or other business entities, and "consolidation" means a procedure in which two or more limited liability companies or other business entities consolidate into a single limited liability company or other business entity that shall be a new limited liability company or other business entity to be formed pursuant to the consolidation. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1001
• Misdemeanor: Usually a petty offense, a less serious crime than a felony, punishable by less than a year of confinement.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage investments: shall mean and include any and all shares and interests, heretofore or hereafter acquired, in an issue of bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness of individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations, held by more than one person and secured by a mortgage or mortgages upon real property, or by a deed or deeds of trust, trust indenture or indentures or other evidence of interest in real property, the payment of which is not guaranteed by any title and mortgage guaranty corporation or investment company and shall include certificates of deposit issued by or on behalf of a bondholders' protective committee or similar group and also any bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness taken in lieu of such real property by foreclosure or otherwise, provided, however, that it shall not include industrial securities. See N.Y. Real Property Law 125
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• motor vehicle: shall include trailers and all vehicles included in the definition of the term "motor vehicle" contained in section one hundred twenty-five of this chapter except the following:

  1. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 308

• motor vehicle: shall mean motor vehicles as defined by section one hundred twenty-five and trailers as defined by section one hundred fifty-six of this chapter. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 398-B
• motor vehicle repair shop: means any person who, for compensation, is wholly or partially engaged in the business of repairing or diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions or repairing motor vehicle bodies, fenders or other components damaged by accident or otherwise, except that such term does not include:

  (a) an employee of a motor vehicle repair shop who engages in the business of repairing motor vehicles solely by reason of his employment;

  (b) any person who is solely engaged in the business of repairing the motor vehicles of a single commercial or industrial establishment, or of the federal, state or a local government or any agency thereof; or

  (c) any person whose activities consist solely of fueling, changing oil, water, batteries or tires, replacing fan belts, air filters or oil filters, installing windshield wiper blades or light bulbs, or such other minor repair and servicing functions as the commissioner shall by rule prescribe; or

  (d) any person solely engaged in the business of repairing farm or road building machines, or such other utility vehicles as the commissioner may by regulation designate. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 398-B

• 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}
• Neglected child: means a child or youth who has been subjected to neglect as defined in § 488 of the New York state social services law while in the custody of ACS. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Officer: shall mean any person holding an elected position or any other position involving participation in the management or control of a wholesale trade association or of a labor union or labor organization required to register pursuant to section 22-264 or section 22-265 of this chapter. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Operation of the property: means and includes the administration and operation of the property and the maintenance, repair and replacement of, and the making of any additions and improvements to, the common elements. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Organization: shall mean a business entity, including but not limited to a corporation, trust, estate, partnership, cooperative, association, firm, club or society. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 20-102
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Paper document: means a document in a form that is not electronic. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• Particular eligible premises: means the portion of such particular premises that meets the requirements for eligible premises specified in subdivision (e) of this section. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-621
• Particular premises: means all premises occupied by an eligible business within a single building. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-621
• 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 a natural person, corporation, partnership, association, trustee or other legal entity. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Person: shall mean a natural person or an organization. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 20-102
• Personal property: means movable property not affixed to land and includes, but is not limited to, goods, merchandise and household items. See N.Y. Lien Law 182
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physical restraint: means the use of bodily force to limit a child's freedom of movement during a physical confrontation or to prevent a confrontation. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Placement: means the temporary care and maintenance of adjudicated youth held away from their homes pursuant to article three of the family court act. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Placement facility: means a facility, certified by the New York state office of children and family services, for the care of youth placed in accordance with the provisions of the family court act and the regulations of the New York state office of children and family services. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• 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.
• 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.
• Principal: shall mean , of a sole proprietorship, the proprietor; of a corporation, every officer, director and stockholder holding ten percent or more of the outstanding shares of the corporation; of a partnership, all the partners; if another type of business entity, the chief operating officer or chief executive officer, irrespective of organizational title, and all persons or entities having an ownership interest of ten percent or more; and with respect to all business

  entities, all other persons participating directly or indirectly in the control of such business entity. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251

• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Professional: means an individual duly authorized to practice a profession, a professional service corporation, a professional service limited liability company, a foreign professional service limited liability company, a registered limited liability partnership, a foreign limited liability partnership, a foreign professional service corporation or a professional partnership. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional partnership: means (1) a partnership without limited partners each of whose partners is a professional authorized by law to render a professional service within this state, (2) a partnership without limited partners each of whose partners is a professional, at least one of whom is authorized by law to render a professional service within this state or (3) a partnership without limited partners authorized by, or holding a license, certificate, registration or permit issued by the licensing authority pursuant to the education law to render a professional service within this state. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional service: means any type of service to the public that may be lawfully rendered by a member of a profession within the purview of his or her profession. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• proof of financial security: shall mean proof of ability to respond in damages for liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as evidenced by an owner's policy of liability insurance, a financial security bond, a financial security deposit, or qualifications as a self-insurer under section three hundred sixteen of this chapter or, in the case of a non-resident, under self-insurance provisions of the laws of the jurisdiction of such non-resident. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• Property: shall mean and include all of the real property or any incidental personal property constituting the underlying security for mortgage investments. See N.Y. Real Property Law 125
• Property: means and includes the land, the building and all other improvements thereon, (i) owned in fee simple absolute, or (ii) in the case of a condominium devoted exclusively to non-residential purposes, held under a lease or sublease, or separate unit leases or subleases, the unexpired term or terms of which on the date of recording of the declaration shall not be less than thirty years, or (iii) in the case of a qualified leasehold condominium, held under a lease or sublease, or separate unit leases or subleases, the unexpired term or terms of which on the date of recording of the declaration shall not be less than fifty years, and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto, and all other property, personal or mixed, intended for use in connection therewith, which have been or are intended to be submitted to the provisions of this article. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• purchaser: includes every person to whom any estate or interest in real property is conveyed for a valuable consideration, and every assignee of a mortgage, lease or other conditional estate. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• Qualified leasehold condominium: means any leasehold interest in real property intended to be used for either residential purposes, commercial purposes, industrial purposes or any combination of such purposes, together with any fee simple absolute or leasehold interest in the buildings and all other improvements which have been or at any time hereafter may be erected upon such real property, which has been or is intended to be submitted to the provisions of this article, provided that, on the date of the recording of the declaration: (i) the battery park city authority or the Roosevelt Island operating corporation is the holder of the tenant's interest in such leasehold interest or (ii) the Queens West development corporation is the holder of the landlord's interest in such leasehold interest or (iii) the Brooklyn bridge park development corporation is the holder of the landlord's interest in such leasehold interest, or (iv) the New York city educational construction fund is the holder of the landlord's interest in such leasehold interest for property located in the borough of Manhattan, in the city of New York, bounded on the east by Second Ave, on the west by Third Avenue, to the north by East Fifty-seventh Street, and to the south by East Fifty-sixth Street. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real property: as used in this article , includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and chattels real, except a lease for a term not exceeding three years. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• recorded: means the entry, at length, upon the pages of the proper record books in a plain and legible hand writing, or in print or in symbols of drawing or by photographic process or partly in writing, partly in printing, partly in symbols of drawing or partly by photographic process or by any combination of writing, printing, drawing or photography or either or any two of them, or by an electronic process by which a record or instrument affecting real property, after delivery is incorporated into the public record. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• recording officer: means the county clerk of the county, except in a county having a register, where it means the register of the county. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• 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}
• 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.
• Remainderman: One entitled to the remainder of an estate after a particular reserved right or interest, such as a life tenancy, has expired.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• 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.
• reside in temporary housing: means satisfying the definition of "homeless child" as set forth in chancellor's regulation A-780. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-965
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Revitalization area: means any district in the city of New York that is zoned C4, C5, C6, M1, M2 or M3 in accordance with the zoning resolution of such city in any area of such city except the area lying south of the center line of 96th Street in the borough of Manhattan. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-621
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• self-insurer: shall mean a person who shall have been determined by the commissioner in accordance with section three hundred sixteen to be financially responsible. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• Sequester: To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.
• 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: when used in this article shall unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, mean any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any province of the Dominion of Canada. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• student: means any pupil under the age of twenty-one as of September first of the academic period being reported, who does not have a high school diploma and who is enrolled in a district school or pre-kindergarten program in a district school within the city school district. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-965
• subdivider: shall include every person, partnership, corporation, company or association who or which engages directly or through an agent in the business of selling, leasing or offering for sale or lease subdivided lands and subdivisions to the public in this state. See N.Y. Real Property Law 337
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• superintendent: shall mean the superintendent of financial services of this state. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 311
• Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
• 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.
• Total attributed eligible aggregate employment shares: means , for any relocation, the sum of the number of eligible aggregate employment shares apportioned to such relocation pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision, less any excess shares determined with respect to such relocation pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision, plus any excess shares attributed to such relocation pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-621
• Trade name: shall mean that name under which an organization or person solicits, engages in, conducts or transacts a business or activity. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 20-102
• 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.
• Trustee: shall mean and include any person, firm, association or corporation named, appointed or designated as such in any deed of trust, trust indenture or other similar instrument or any successor of such trustee. See N.Y. Real Property Law 125
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Unit: means a part of the property intended for any type of use or uses, and with an exit to a public street or highway or to a common element or elements leading to a public street or highway, and may include such appurtenances as garage and other parking space, storage room, balcony, terrace and patio, but in no event may utility facilities such as those for water or sewerage treatment or power generation appear as single units. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Unit designation: means the number, letter or combination thereof or other official designations conforming to the tax lot number, if any, designating the unit in the declaration and on the floor plans. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• Unit owner: means the person or persons owning a unit in fee simple absolute or, in the case either (i) of a condominium devoted exclusively to non-residential purposes, or (ii) a qualified leasehold condominium, owning a unit held under a lease or sublease. See N.Y. Real Property Law 339-E
• 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.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Visitor: shall mean a person who is neither engaged in nor an employee of a wholesale business or market business in the market who wishes to enter or enters a public wholesale market. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Wet signature: means a signature affixed in ink or pencil or other material to a paper document. See N.Y. Real Property Law 290
• wholesale business: shall mean any business engaged in selling food or related agricultural products or horticultural products at wholesale prices for resale by a wholesaler or retailer or for use by an institution or other similar establishment, whether or not such business also sells directly to the public, except that such terms as used in this chapter shall not include a "wholesaler" or "wholesale seafood business" as defined in section 22-202 of this

  code; provided, however, that a wholesale business to which customers do not regularly come to pick up purchases and that does not deal from such location primarily in perishable products shall not be subject, unless otherwise provided by rule of the commissioner, to the provisions of sections 22-252, 22-254 and 22-255 of this chapter. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251

• Wholesale trade association: shall mean an entity, the majority of whose members are wholesale businesses and/or market businesses, having as a primary purpose the promotion, management or self-regulation of a market or such wholesale businesses or market businesses within such market or the facilities utilized by such businesses, including, but not limited to a corporation, cooperative, unincorporated association, partnership, trust or limited liability partnership or company, whether or not such entity is organized for profit, not-for-profit, business or non-business purposes. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 22-251
• Without authorization: means to use or to access a computer, computer service or computer network without the permission of the owner

  or lessor or someone licensed or privileged by the owner or lessor where such person knew that his or her use or access was without permission or after actual notice to such person that such use or access was without permission. See N.Y. Penal Law 156.00

• Youth: means a person who resides in a juvenile detention or placement facility in the custody of ACS. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901
• Zone: means one of no fewer than 13 divisions of ACS child protective services headed by a deputy director who exercises oversight over the work of child protective managers, supervisors and child protective specialists in a specific geographic area, or the Office of Confidential Investigations. See N.Y. New York City Administrative Code 21-901