Virginia Code 64.2-2500: Definitions
As used in this chapter:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 64.2-2500
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Decedent: means any person whose life has been taken as a result of murder or voluntary manslaughter. See Virginia Code 64.2-2500
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- 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.
- Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
- 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 any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
“Decedent” means any person whose life has been taken as a result of murder or voluntary manslaughter.
“Property” includes any real and personal property and any right or interest therein.
“Slayer” means any person (i) who is convicted of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of the decedent or, (ii) in the absence of such conviction, who is determined, whether before or after his death, by a court of appropriate jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence to have committed one of the offenses listed in clause (i) resulting in the death of the decedent. For the purposes of clause (ii), the party seeking to establish that a decedent was slain by such person shall have the burden of proof.
1981, c. 469, § 55-401; 1987, c. 498; 2008, cc. 822, 830; 2012, c. 614.