Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 17 > Chapter 51 > Subchapter 10 - Jurisdiction of Courts

• 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.
• Department: means the Department of Health. See
• 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.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public health hazard: means the potential harm to the public health by virtue of any condition or any biological, chemical, or physical agent. See
• Public health risk: means the probability of experiencing a public health hazard. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See