Sections
Chapter 411 Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas 411.001 – 411.951
Chapter 413 Criminal Justice Policy Council 413.001 – 413.022
Chapter 414 Texas Crime Stoppers Council 414.001 – 414.013
Chapter 417 State Fire Marshal 417.001 – 417.010
Chapter 418 Emergency Management 418.001 – 418.310
Chapter 419 Texas Commission On Fire Protection 419.001 – 419.909
Chapter 420 Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services 420.001 – 420.108
Chapter 420A Texas Civil Commitment Office 420A.001 – 420A.013
Chapter 421 Homeland Security 421.001 – 421.901
Chapter 422 Internet-Based Sexual Exploitation of Minor 422.001 – 422.004
Chapter 423 Use of Unmanned Aircraft 423.001 – 423.009
Chapter 424 Protection of Critical Infrastructure Facilities 424.001 – 424.105
Chapter 425 Peace Officer Wellness Program 425.001 – 425.102

Terms Used In Texas Government Code > Title 4 > Subtitle B - Law Enforcement and Public Protection

  • Acquittal:
    1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
    2. A verdict of "not guilty."
     
  • Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Affiliate: means a person who, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a specified person, including any direct or indirect parent or subsidiary. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • 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.
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
  • Chambers: A judge's office.
  • Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
  • Claimant: means a person, including a decedent's estate, seeking or who has sought recovery of damages in a health care liability claim. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Control: means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the person, whether through ownership of equity or securities, by contract, or otherwise. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Court: means any federal or state court. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defense attorney: Represent defendants in criminal matters.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Dextromethorphan: means any compound, mixture, or preparation containing any detectable amount of that substance, including its salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers. See Texas Health and Safety Code 488.001
  • Disclosure panel: means the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Donee: The recipient of a gift.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Emergency medical care: means bona fide emergency services provided after the sudden onset of a medical or traumatic condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Emergency medical services provider: means a licensed public or private provider to which Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code, applies. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. Source: OCC
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • 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.
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • Health care: means any act or treatment performed or furnished, or that should have been performed or furnished, by any health care provider for, to, or on behalf of a patient during the patient's medical care, treatment, or confinement. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Health care institution: includes :
    (A) an ambulatory surgical center;
    (B) an assisted living facility licensed under Chapter 247, Health and Safety Code;
    (C) an emergency medical services provider;
    (D) a health services district created under Chapter 287, Health and Safety Code;
    (E) a home and community support services agency;
    (F) a hospice;
    (G) a hospital;
    (H) a hospital system;
    (I) an intermediate care facility for individuals with an intellectual disability or a home and community-based services waiver program for individuals with an intellectual disability adopted in accordance with Section 1915(c) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Health care liability claim: means a cause of action against a health care provider or physician for treatment, lack of treatment, or other claimed departure from accepted standards of medical care, or health care, or safety or professional or administrative services directly related to health care, which proximately results in injury to or death of a claimant, whether the claimant's claim or cause of action sounds in tort or contract. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Health care provider: means any person, partnership, professional association, corporation, facility, or institution duly licensed, certified, registered, or chartered by the State of Texas to provide health care, including:
    (i) a registered nurse;
    (ii) a dentist;
    (iii) a podiatrist;
    (iv) a pharmacist;
    (v) a chiropractor;
    (vi) an optometrist;
    (vii) a health care institution; or
    (viii) a health care collaborative certified under Chapter 848, Insurance Code. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Home and community support services agency: means a licensed public or provider agency to which Chapter 142, Health and Safety Code, applies. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Hospice: means a hospice facility or activity to which Chapter 142, Health and Safety Code, applies. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Hospital: means a licensed public or private institution as defined in Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or licensed under Chapter 577, Health and Safety Code. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Hospital system: means a system of hospitals located in this state that are under the common governance or control of a corporate parent. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • 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.
  • Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Intermediate care facility for individuals with an intellectual disability: means a licensed public or private institution to which Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, applies. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • 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.
  • Joint meeting: An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate each adopt a unanimous consent agreement
  • Juror: A person who is on the jury.
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Medical care: means any act defined as practicing medicine under § 151. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Mistrial: An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Noneconomic damages: has the meaning assigned by § 41. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Nursing home: means a licensed public or private institution to which Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, applies. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Pharmacist: means one licensed under Chapter 551, Occupations Code, who, for the purposes of this chapter, performs those activities limited to the dispensing of prescription medicines which result in health care liability claims and does not include any other cause of action that may exist at common law against them, including but not limited to causes of action for the sale of mishandled or defective products. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Physician: means :
    (A) an individual licensed to practice medicine in this state;
    (B) a professional association organized under the Texas Professional Association Act (Article 1528f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) by an individual physician or group of physicians;
    (C) a partnership or limited liability partnership formed by a group of physicians;
    (D) a nonprofit health corporation certified under § 162. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • 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.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Professional or administrative services: means those duties or services that a physician or health care provider is required to provide as a condition of maintaining the physician's or health care provider's license, accreditation status, or certification to participate in state or federal health care programs. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • 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).
  • Representative: means the spouse, parent, guardian, trustee, authorized attorney, or other authorized legal agent of the patient or claimant. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Sale: includes a conveyance, exchange, barter, or trade. See Texas Health and Safety Code 488.001
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • 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 of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Succeeding: means immediately following. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Swear: includes affirm. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • 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.
  • Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • Victim Impact Statement: A written or spoken statement by the victim or his or her representative about the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on the victim. The statement is given to the court before sentencing.
  • Voir dire: The process by which judges and lawyers select a petit jury from among those eligible to serve, by questioning them to determine knowledge of the facts of the case and a willingness to decide the case only on the evidence presented in court. "Voir dire" is a phrase meaning "to speak the truth."
  • Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.