Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 16.1 > Chapter 4.1 - District Courts

• Administrative records: shall mean all other court papers and records not otherwise defined. See Virginia Code 16.1-69.53
• 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.
• 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.
• Affirmation: means a notarial act, or part thereof, that is legally equivalent to an oath and in which an individual at a single time and place (i) appears in person before the notary and presents a document; (ii) is personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence of identity; and (iii) makes a vow of truthfulness or fidelity on penalty of perjury. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Alcohol: means the product known as ethyl or grain alcohol obtained by distillation of any fermented liquor, rectified either once or more often, whatever the origin, and shall include synthetic ethyl alcohol, but shall not include methyl alcohol and alcohol completely denatured in accordance with formulas approved by the government of the United States. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Alcoholic beverages: includes alcohol, spirits, wine, and beer, and any one or more of such varieties containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, including mixed alcoholic beverages, and every liquid or solid, powder or crystal, patented or not, containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer and capable of being consumed by a human being. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Animal: means any live vertebrate nonhuman animal. See Virginia Code 3.2-6591
• Animal test method: means a process or procedure that uses animals to obtain information on the characteristics of a chemical or agent or the biological effect of exposure to a chemical or agent under specified conditions. See Virginia Code 3.2-6591
• Animal testing facility: means any facility, including a private entity, state agency, or institution of higher education, that confines and uses dogs or cats for research, education, testing, or other scientific or medical purposes. See Virginia Code 3.2-6591
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• armory: shall include training or logistical support facilities, such as, but not limited to, maintenance facilities, training areas, facilities at the State Military Reservation, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the Fort Pickett Maneuver Training Center. See Virginia Code 44-123.1
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Asset management: means a systematic process of operating and maintaining the systems of state highways by combining engineering practices and analysis with sound business practices and economic theory to achieve cost-effective outcomes. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authority: means the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority created pursuant to this subtitle. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Authority: means the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. See Virginia Code 33.2-287
• 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.
• Beer: means any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, and hops or of any similar products in drinkable water and containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Board: means the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Bonds: means the revenue notes, bonds, certificates, and other evidences of indebtedness or obligations of the Authority. See Virginia Code 33.2-287
• borrower: means (i) any current resident of the Commonwealth who has received or agreed to pay a qualified education loan or (ii) any person who is contractually obligated with such resident for repaying the qualified education loan. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600
• Case records: shall mean all documents, dockets and indices. See Virginia Code 16.1-69.53
• certificate: means the part of, or attachment to, a notarized document that is completed by the notary public, bears the notary public's signature, title, commission expiration date, notary registration number, and other required information concerning the date and place of the notarization and states the facts attested to or certified by the notary public in a particular notarization. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• City: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-208. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• 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.
• Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Communicable disease of public health threat: means an illness of public health significance, as determined by the State Health Commissioner in accordance with regulations of the Board of Health, caused by a specific or suspected infectious agent that may be reasonably expected or is known to be readily transmitted directly or indirectly from one individual to another and has been found to create a risk of death or significant injury or impairment; this definition shall not, however, be construed to include human immunodeficiency viruses or tuberculosis, unless used as a bioterrorism weapon. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Coordinator: means the Coordinator of the Department of Emergency Management. See Virginia Code 44-146.34
• Court records: shall include case records, financial records and administrative records as defined in this section. See Virginia Code 16.1-69.53
• Credential analysis: means a process or service that independently affirms the veracity of a government-issued identity credential by reviewing public or proprietary data sources and meets the standards of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Credible witness: means an honest, reliable, and impartial person who personally knows an individual appearing before a notary and takes an oath or affirmation from the notary to confirm that individual's identity. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Dangerous captive animal: means any bear, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, nonhuman primate, or tiger, or any hybrid of any such animal. See Virginia Code 3.2-6594
• Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Department: means the Department of Emergency Management. See Virginia Code 44-146.31
• Department: means the Department of Emergency Management. See Virginia Code 44-146.34
• Direct contact: means physical contact or proximity where physical contact is possible, including an opportunity for photography without a permanent physical barrier designed to prevent physical contact between the public and a dangerous captive animal. See Virginia Code 3.2-6594
• Disaster: means (i) any man-made disaster, including any condition following an attack by any enemy or foreign nation upon the United States resulting in substantial damage of property or injury to persons in the United States including by use of bombs, missiles, shell fire, or nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological means or other weapons or by overt paramilitary actions; terrorism, foreign and domestic; cyber incidents; and any industrial, nuclear, or transportation accident, explosion, conflagration, power failure, resources shortage, or other condition such as sabotage, oil spills, and other injurious environmental contaminations that threaten or cause damage to property, human suffering, hardship, or loss of life and (ii) any natural disaster, including any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, drought, fire, communicable disease of public health threat, or other natural catastrophe resulting in damage, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Discharge: means spillage, leakage, pumping, pouring, seepage, emitting, dumping, emptying, injecting, escaping, leaching, fire, explosion, or other releases. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Division: means the Division of Mined Land Repurposing. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Document: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form, including a record as defined in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (§ 59. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Documents: shall mean all motions for judgment, bills of complaint, answers, bills of particulars, other pleadings, interrogatories, motions in writing, warrants, summonses, petitions, proof of service, witness summonses and subpoenas, documents received in evidence, transcripts, orders, judgments, writs, and any other similar case-related records and papers in the possession of the district courts and filed with the pleadings in the case. See Virginia Code 16.1-69.53
• Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Electronic document: means information that is created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Electronic notarial certificate: means the portion of a notarized electronic document that is completed by the notary public, bears the notary public's signature, title, commission expiration date, and other required information concerning the date and place of the electronic notarization, and states the facts attested to or certified by the notary public in a particular notarization. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• electronic notarization: means an official act by a notary under § 47. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• electronic notary: means a notary public who has been commissioned by the Secretary of the Commonwealth with the capability of performing electronic notarial acts under § 47. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• electronic seal: means information within a notarized electronic document that confirms the notary's name, jurisdiction, and commission expiration date and generally corresponds to data in notary seals used on paper documents. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Electronic signature: means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Emergency: means any occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural or man-made, which results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property or natural resources and may involve governmental action beyond that authorized or contemplated by existing law because governmental inaction for the period required to amend the law to meet the exigency would work immediate and irrevocable harm upon the citizens or the environment of the Commonwealth or some clearly defined portion or portions thereof. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Emergency services: means the preparation for and the carrying out of functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to prevent, minimize, and repair injury and damage resulting from disasters, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Farm winery: means (i) an establishment or cooperative located in the Commonwealth on land zoned agricultural that has (a) a vineyard, orchard, or similar growing area that produces fruits or other agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery, subject to the requirements set forth in § 4. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Federal act: means the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, P. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Financial records: shall mean all papers and records related to the receipt and disbursement of money by the district court. See Virginia Code 16.1-69.53
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Gourmet brewing shop: means an establishment which sells to persons to whom wine or beer may lawfully be sold, ingredients for making wine or brewing beer, including packaging, and rents to such persons facilities for manufacturing, fermenting and bottling such wine or beer. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Hazard mitigation: means any action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Hazardous materials: means substances or materials which may pose unreasonable risks to health, safety, property, or the environment when used, transported, stored or disposed of, which may include materials which are solid, liquid or gas. See Virginia Code 44-146.34
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• highway construction: means highway, passenger and freight rail, or public transportation purposes. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Identity proofing: means a process or service that independently verifies an individual's identity in accordance with § 2. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• 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.
• Individual: shall include any companion animal. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• inhabitants: means with reference to any county, city, town, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any combination thereof, the natural persons in such county, city, town, political subdivision or combination as shown by the unadjusted United States decennial census last preceding the time at which any provision dependent upon population is being applied or the time as of which it is being construed. See Virginia Code 1-235
• 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.
• Interstate highway: means any highway in or component of the Interstate System. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Interstate System: means the same as that term is defined in 23 U. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Keeper: means any person, as defined in § 1-230, who owns, has custody of, or is in control of a dangerous captive animal. See Virginia Code 3.2-6594
• Licensee: means a person to whom a license has been issued under this chapter. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600
• Licensee: means any person to whom a license has been granted by the Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• loan servicer: means any person, wherever located, that:

  1. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600

• Local emergency: means the condition declared by the local governing body when in its judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or disaster is or threatens to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby, provided, however, that a local emergency arising wholly or substantially out of a resource shortage may be declared only by the Governor, upon petition of the local governing body, when he deems the threat or actual occurrence of such an emergency or disaster to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby, and provided, however, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting a local governing body from the prudent management of its water supply to prevent or manage a water shortage. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Locality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-221. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Major disaster: means any natural catastrophe, including any: hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought, or regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which, in the determination of the President of the United States is, or thereafter determined to be, of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act (P. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
• Manufacturer: means any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity that produces chemicals, ingredients, product formulations, or products. See Virginia Code 3.2-6591
• mass transit: means passenger transportation by rubber-tired, rail, or other surface conveyance that provides shared ride services open to the general public on a regular and continuing basis. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Mistrial: An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Municipality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-224. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• notarization: means any official act performed by a notary under § 47. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• notary: means any person commissioned to perform official acts under the title, and includes an electronic notary except where expressly provided otherwise. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Notary: means notary public. See Virginia Code 1-226
• Nuclear power station: means a facility producing electricity through the utilization of nuclear energy for sale to the public which is required to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and includes all units of the facility at a single site. See Virginia Code 44-146.31
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: shall include "affirmation. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Virginia Code 1-228
• Operator: means any person engaging in a coal surface mining operation whether or not such coal is sold within the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Permit: means a permit issued by the Director pursuant to state regulations. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Permittee: means a person holding any of the following permits issued by the Director: (i) a permit for coal surface mining pursuant to § 45. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Person: means any individual, partnership, association, joint venture, trust, company, firm, joint stock company, corporation, other group or combination acting as a unit, or other legal entity. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, agency, political subdivision or agency thereof, and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of the foregoing. See Virginia Code 44-146.31
• personally knows: means familiarity with an individual resulting from interactions with that individual over a period of time sufficient to dispel any reasonable uncertainty that the individual has the identity claimed. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• 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.
• Political subdivision: means any city or county in the Commonwealth and, for the purposes of this chapter, the Town of Chincoteague and any town of more than 5,000 population that chooses to have an emergency management program separate from that of the county in which such town is located. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Political subdivision: means any city or county in the Commonwealth, and for the purposes of this chapter, any town with a population of more than 5,000 which chooses to have an emergency management program separate from that of the county in which the town is located. See Virginia Code 44-146.34
• Primary highway: means any highway in or component of the primary state highway system. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Primary state highway system: consists of all highways and bridges under the jurisdiction and control of the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Commissioner of Highways and not in the secondary state highway system. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Principal: means any person who, directly or indirectly, owns or controls (i) 10 percent or more of the outstanding stock of a stock corporation or (ii) a 10 percent or greater interest in any other type of entity. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600
• Principal: means (i) a person whose signature is notarized or (ii) a person, other than a credible witness, taking an oath or affirmation from the notary. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Qualified education loan: includes a loan made to refinance a qualified education loan. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600
• Record of notarial acts: means a device for creating and preserving a chronological record of notarizations performed by a notary. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Registry: means the nationwide multistate licensing system and registry created by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600
• Remote online notarization: means an electronic notarization under this chapter where the signer is not in the physical presence of the notary. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Residence: means any building or part of a building or structure where a person resides, but does not include any part of a building that is not actually and exclusively used as a private residence, nor any part of a hotel or club other than a private guest room thereof. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Resource shortage: means the absence, unavailability, or reduced supply of any raw or processed natural resource or any commodities, goods, or services of any kind that bear a substantial relationship to the health, safety, welfare, and economic well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Satisfactory evidence of identity: means identification of an individual based on (i) examination of one or more of the following unexpired documents bearing a photographic image of the individual's face and signature: a United States Passport Book, a United States Passport Card, a certificate of United States citizenship, a certificate of naturalization, a foreign passport, an alien registration card with photograph, a state issued driver's license or a state issued identification card or a United States military card or (ii) the oath or affirmation of one credible witness unaffected by the document or transaction who is personally known to the notary and who personally knows the individual or of two credible witnesses unaffected by the document or transaction who each personally knows the individual and shows to the notary documentary identification as described in clause (i). See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Seal: means a device for affixing on a paper document an image containing the notary's name and other information related to the notary's commission. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Secondary highway: means any highway in or component of the secondary state highway system. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Secretary: means the U. See Virginia Code 45.2-1000
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Servicing: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 6.2-2600

• Special event: means an event sponsored by a duly organized nonprofit corporation or association and conducted for an athletic, charitable, civic, educational, political, or religious purpose. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• State: includes District of Columbia;

  (f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;

  (g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;

  (h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and

  (i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100

• State: includes any state, territory, or possession of the United States. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § 2. See Virginia Code 1-206
• State of emergency: means the condition declared by the Governor when in his judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or a disaster in any part of the Commonwealth is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant disaster assistance by the Commonwealth to supplement the efforts and available resources of the several localities and relief organizations in preventing or alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby and is so declared by him. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Systems of state highways: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-251. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• 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.
• transportation: means any movement of property by any mode and any packing, loading, unloading, or storage incidental thereto. See Virginia Code 44-146.34
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Verification of fact: means a notarial act in which a notary reviews public or vital records to (i) ascertain or confirm facts regarding a person's identity, identifying attributes, or authorization to access a building, database, document, network, or physical site or (ii) validate an identity credential on which satisfactory evidence of identity may be based. See Virginia Code 47.1-2
• Wine: includes any wine to which wine spirits have been added, as provided in the Internal Revenue Code, to make products commonly known as "fortified wine" which do not exceed an alcohol content of 21 percent by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.