Terms Used In Oregon Statutes > Chapter 60 > Records and Reports > Records

• Action: means any proceeding commenced in a court in which the court may render a judgment. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Articles of incorporation: means the articles described in ORS § 60. See Oregon Statutes 60.001
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• City: includes any incorporated village or town. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Civil action: means any action that is not a criminal action. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• 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.
• 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.
• County court: includes board of county commissioners. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Court administrator: means a trial court administrator in a circuit court that has a trial court administrator and the clerk of the court in all other courts. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Criminal action: has the meaning given in ORS § 131. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Distribution: means a direct or indirect transfer of money or other property, except of a corporation's own shares, or a corporation's incurrence of indebtedness to or for the benefit of the corporation's shareholders in respect of any of the corporation's shares, in the form of a declaration or payment of a dividend, a purchase, redemption or other acquisition of shares, a distribution of indebtedness, or otherwise. See Oregon Statutes 60.001
• district: means any one of the following:

  (1) A people's utility district organized under ORS Chapter 261. See Oregon Statutes 198.010

• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• 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.
• Execution: means enforcement of the money award portion of a judgment or enforcement of a judgment requiring delivery of the possession or sale of specific real or personal property, by means of writs of execution, writs of garnishment and other statutory or common law writs or remedies that may be available under the law. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• 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.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• General judgment: means the judgment entered by a court that decides all requests for relief in the action except:

  (a) A request for relief previously decided by a limited judgment; and

  (b) A request for relief that may be decided by a supplemental judgment. See Oregon Statutes 18.005

• 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.
• Judgment: means the concluding decision of a court on one or more requests for relief in one or more actions, as reflected in a judgment document. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Judgment document: means a writing in the form provided by ORS § 18. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• local government: means all cities, counties and local service districts located in this state, and all administrative subdivisions of those cities, counties and local service districts. See Oregon Statutes 174.116
• Money award: means a judgment or portion of a judgment that requires the payment of money. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• 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.
• 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: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Principal office: means the physical street address of an office, in or out of this state, where the principal executive offices of a domestic or foreign corporation are located and designated in the annual report or in the application for authority to transact business in this state. See Oregon Statutes 60.001
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• public body: means state government bodies, local government bodies and special government bodies. See Oregon Statutes 174.109
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• 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.
• Request for relief: means a claim, a charge in a criminal action or any other request for a determination of the rights and liabilities of one or more parties in an action that a legal authority allows the court to decide by a judgment. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• 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.
• Shareholder: means a person in whose name a share is registered in the records of a corporation or the beneficial owner of a share to the extent of the rights granted by a nominee certificate on file with a corporation. See Oregon Statutes 60.001
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Supplemental judgment: means a judgment that may be rendered after a general judgment pursuant to a legal authority. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Support arrearage lien: means a lien that attaches to real property under the provisions of ORS § 18. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Support award: means a money award or agency order that requires the payment of child or spousal support. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Violate: includes failure to comply. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Written: means embodied as a document. See Oregon Statutes 60.001