Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 40 > Chapter 12 > Part 1 - General Provisions

• 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.
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation, the commissioner's duly authorized representatives, and in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Dam: means any artificial barrier, together with appurtenant works, that does or may impound or divert water, and that either:
  (A) Is or will be twenty feet (20') or more in height from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse at the downstream toe of the barrier, as determined by the commissioner. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Days: means calendar days, including Sundays and holidays. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• 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,
• 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.
• 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.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Owner: means any person who owns an interest in, controls, or operates a dam. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• Person: means any individual, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust corporation, company, county, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, public utility, utility or other district, the state of Tennessee and its departments, divisions, institutions, and agencies, and the duly authorized officers, agents, and representatives thereof, or any combination of any of the above. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Reservoir: means any basin that contains or will contain the water impounded by a dam. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Water: means that liquid, including solids or other matter dissolved or suspended in the liquid, that is or will be impounded. See Tennessee Code 69-11-102
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105