Terms Used In Oregon Statutes > Chapter 124 > Civil Action for Abuse of Vulnerable Person

• 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.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Any other state: includes any state and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• Certifier: means a person required to attest to the accuracy of information submitted on a report. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Court of competent jurisdiction: means a court within the United States with jurisdiction over a person subject to regulation under this chapter. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Dead body: means a human body or such parts of such human body from the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Electronic signature: means an electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record that is executed or adopted by a person with the intent to attest to the accuracy of the facts in the record. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• 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.
• Facts of live birth: means the name of the child, date of birth, place of birth, sex and parent's name or parents' names appearing on the record of live birth. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, that is not an induced termination of pregnancy. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Final disposition: means the burial, interment, cremation, reduction, removal from the state or other authorized disposition of a dead body or fetus, except that when removal from the state is conducted by the holder of a certificate of removal registration issued under ORS § 692. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• 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.
• Induced termination of pregnancy: means the purposeful interruption of an intrauterine pregnancy with the intention other than to produce a live-born infant and that does not result in a live birth. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Institution: means any establishment, public or private, that provides inpatient or outpatient medical, surgical or diagnostic care or treatment or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care, or to which persons are committed by law. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Live birth: means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, that, after such expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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 with a disability: means any person who:

  (a) Has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities;

  (b) Has a record of such an impairment; or

  (c) Is regarded as having such an impairment. See Oregon Statutes 174.107

• Physician: means a person authorized to practice medicine, chiropractic or naturopathic medicine under the laws of this state or under the laws of Washington, Idaho or California, a physician assistant licensed under ORS § 677. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• 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.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Record: means a report that has been registered by the state registrar. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Registration: means the process by which vital records and reports are accepted and incorporated into the official records of the Center for Health Statistics. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• Report: means a document, whether in paper or electronic format, containing information related to a vital event submitted by a person required to submit the information to the state registrar for the purpose of registering a vital event. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• State: includes a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia and New York City. See Oregon Statutes 432.005
• state government: means the executive department, the judicial department and the legislative department. See Oregon Statutes 174.111
• State Treasury: includes those financial assets the lawful custody of which are vested in the State Treasurer and the office of the State Treasurer relating to the custody of those financial assets. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
• United States: includes territories, outlying possessions and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.