Terms Used In Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 133.002

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005

If a branch of the armed services issues a certificate declaring a person dead, the date of death is presumed to have occurred for all purposes as stated in the certificate. The certificate may be admitted in any court of competent jurisdiction as prima facie evidence of the date and place of the person’s death.