Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 4-15 - Animals at Large

• 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
• Approved public treatment facility: means a treatment agency operating under the direction and control of the department or providing treatment under this chapter through a contract with the department. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-10.1-2
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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.
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, and profession. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• 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.
• 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.
• Conversion: means a transaction authorized by § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the state department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-10.1-2
• Director: means the director of the state department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-10.1-2
• Distribution: means a transfer of money or other property from a partnership to a person on account of a transferable interest or in a person's capacity as a partner. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Domestication: means a transaction authorized by § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• Drug intoxication: means an altered physiological substance or psychoactive substances, in which normal functioning is seriously impeded. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-10.1-2
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Infant: means a newborn human child which is thirty (30) days old or younger. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-13.1-2
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Interest: means :

  (i)  A share in a business corporation;

  (ii)  A membership in a nonprofit corporation;

  (iii)  A partnership interest in a general partnership;

  (iv)  A partnership interest in a limited partnership;

  (v)  A membership interest in a limited liability company;

  (vi)  A share in a general cooperative association;

  (vii)  A member's interest in a limited cooperative association;

  (viii)  A membership in an unincorporated nonprofit association;

  (ix)  A beneficial interest in a statutory trust, business trust, or common-law business trust; or

  (x)  A governance interest or distributional interest in any other type of unincorporated entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101

• Interest exchange: means a transaction authorized by § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• 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.
• Likely to injure him or herself or others: means :

  (i)  A substantial risk of physical harm to himself or herself as manifested by behavior evidencing serious threats of, or attempts at, suicide or by behavior which will result in serious bodily harm; or

  (ii)  A substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as manifested by behavior or threats evidencing homicidal or other violent behavior. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-10.1-2

• Merger: means a transaction authorized by § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• municipal authorization and approval: means an express affirmative vote by the city or town council, or the equivalent governing body, of any municipality where a harm reduction center is proposed to be located, which affirmative vote approves:

  (i)  The opening and operation of the proposed harm reduction center;

  (ii)  The exact location of the proposed harm reduction center, which shall include street address and plat and lot number or other applicable number as used by the municipality's tax assessor; and

  (iii)  An express authorization as to the hours of operation of the proposed harm reduction center. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-12.10-1

• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partner: means a person that:

  (i)  Has become a partner in a partnership under § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102

• 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.
• Partnership agreement: means the agreement, whether or not referred to as a partnership agreement and whether oral, implied, in a record, or in any combination thereof, of all the partners of a partnership concerning the matters described in § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Partnership at will: means a partnership in which the partners have not agreed to remain partners until the expiration of a definite term or the completion of a particular undertaking. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Person: means an individual, business corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, general cooperative association, limited cooperative association, unincorporated nonprofit association, statutory trust, business trust, common-law business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physician: means a person duly licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-10.1-2
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Principal office: means the principal executive office of a partnership or a foreign limited liability partnership, whether or not the office is located in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Property: means all property, whether real, personal, or mixed or tangible or intangible, or any right or interest therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• 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.
• right of contribution: means property or a benefit described in § 7-12. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• 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.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Surviving entity: means the entity that continues in existence after or is created by a merger. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• 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.
• Transfer: includes :

  (i)  An assignment;

  (ii)  A conveyance;

  (iii)  A sale;

  (iv)  A lease;

  (v)  An encumbrance, including a mortgage or security interest;

  (vi)  A gift; and

  (vii)  A transfer by operation of law. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102

• Transferable interest: means the right, as initially owned by a person in the person's capacity as a partner, to receive distributions from a partnership, whether or not the person remains a partner or continues to own any part of the right. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Transferee: means a person to which all or part of a transferable interest has been transferred, whether or not the transferor is a partner. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8