Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 9 > Chapter 26 - Zoning

• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• Bailiff: a court officer who enforces the rules of behavior in courtrooms.
• Board of Pardons: means that Board as established by the Constitution and laws. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Commissioner of the Department: means Commissioner of the Department of Correction. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• 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.
• Community service: means the performance of work or service for a nonprofit or other tax-supported entity by an offender without pay for a specified period of time. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Complaint: shall mean any civil action or miscellaneous action or any application for an extraordinary writ. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Coordination: as used in this chapter means, in general terms, to act jointly, concurrently, and/or harmoniously toward a common end or purpose. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• County: means New Castle. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Court: means Superior Court, Family Court, Court of Common Pleas, or Justices of the Peace Courts. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• courts: shall mean all constitutional or statutory courts of this State. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Crime of violence: means any crime which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4391
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Correction. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Developer: means any person, including a governmental agency, undertaking any development as defined in this subchapter. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Development: means any construction or reconstruction of any new or existing commercial or residential building(s) or structure(s) upon lands which are not owned by the State or its agencies or its political subdivisions, or are not within the jurisdictional control of the State or its agencies or its political subdivisions. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Development order: means any order granting, denying or granting with conditions an application for a development permit. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Development permit: includes any building permit, zoning permit, subdivision approval, rezoning, certificate of occupancy, special exception, variance or any other official action of local government having the effect of permitting the development of land. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Document: means :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101

• Dower: A widow
• Factually frivolous: shall mean a claim where the factual allegations of which are baseless, of little or no weight, value or importance, not worthy of serious attention or trivial. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Federal court: shall mean any federal court of competent jurisdiction over actions brought by prisoners as that term is defined in paragraph (9) of this section. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Good standing: means that an offender participating in the house arrest program has, at the time such person entered the program and continuously thereafter, met the following qualifications:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4391

• Governing body: means the chief governing body of County Council, however designated, or the combination of such bodies where joint utilization of the provision of this subchapter is accomplished as provided herein. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Governmental agency: means :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652

• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• 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.
• house arrest program: means a form of intensive supervised custody in the community, including surveillance on weekends, administered by intensive supervision officers. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4391
• In forma pauperis: In the manner of a pauper. Permission given to a person to sue without payment of court fees on claim of indigence or poverty.
• 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.
• Inmate account: shall mean an account maintained by the Department of Correction in which money is held for prisoners of this State. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• inspector: means a state inspector of weights and measures. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 5101
• Judge: means any judge of any court as herein defined. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• Knowledge: means a person's actual knowledge of a fact, rather than the person's constructive knowledge of the fact. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• Land: means the earth, water and air, above, below or on the surface, and includes any improvements or structures customarily regarded as land. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Land development regulation commission: means a commission designated by a County Council to develop and recommend, to the local governing body, land development regulations which implement the adopted comprehensive plan and to review land development regulations, or amendments thereto, for consistency with the adopted plan and to report to the governing body regarding its findings. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Land development regulations: means ordinances enacted by governing bodies for the regulation of any aspect of development and includes any County Council zoning, rezoning, subdivision, building construction or sign regulations or any other regulations controlling the development of land. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Land use: means the development that has occurred on the land, the development that is proposed by a developer on the land or the use that is permitted or permissible on the land under an adopted comprehensive plan. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Law: means the laws of this State, including any ordinance of any subdivision or municipality. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legally frivolous: shall mean a claim based on an indisputably meritless legal theory. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local government: means any municipality. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Local planning agency: means the agency designated to prepare the comprehensive plan required by this subchapter. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Malicious: shall mean a claim designed to vex, injure or harass, or one which is otherwise abusive of the judicial process or which realleges pending or previously litigated claims. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• newspaper of general circulation: means a newspaper published at least on a weekly basis and printed in the language most commonly spoken in the area within which it circulates, but does not include a newspaper intended primarily for members of a particular professional or occupational group, a newspaper whose primary function is to carry legal notices or a newspaper that is given away primarily to distribute advertising. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Offender: means any person who has been brought within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court, Family Court, or Court of Common Pleas or within the scope of duties of the Board of Parole or the Board of Pardons. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Parcel of land: means any quantity of land capable of being described with such definiteness that its locations and boundaries may be established, which is designated by its owner or developer as land to be used or developed as a unit or which has been used or developed as a unit. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Parole: means the release by the Parole Board of an offender from incarceration to the community prior to the expiration of the offender's term, subject to the supervision and guidance of the Department. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: means both the plural and singular, as the case demands, and shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, companies, societies, and associations. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 5101
• Person: means a natural person, partnership (whether general or limited), limited liability company, trust (including a common law trust, business trust, statutory trust, voting trust or any other form of trust), estate, association (including any group, organization, co-tenancy, plan, board, council or committee), corporation, government (including a country, state, county or any other governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality), custodian, nominee or any other individual or entity (or series thereof) in its own or any representative capacity, in each case, whether domestic or foreign. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• Person: means an individual, corporation, governmental agency, statutory trust, business trust, estate/trust, partnership, association, 2 or more persons having a joint or common interest or any other legal entity. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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.
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• 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.
• Prisoner: shall mean any individual subject to the supervision of the Department of Correction, including, but not limited to, those individuals housed in correctional facilities outside of the State. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 8801
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Probation: means the sentencing without imprisonment of an offender by judgment of the court following establishment of guilt, subject to the conditions imposed by the court, including the supervision and guidance of the Department's field services. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4302
• Public facilities: means major capital improvements over which the County has jurisdiction. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• public meeting: means publication of notice of the time, place and purpose of such hearing at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2652
• public service: include any of the following:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 4391

• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• real property: is synonymous with the phrase "lands, tenements and hereditaments. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• 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.
• State: means the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any state, territory, possession, or other jurisdiction of the United States other than the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• United States: includes its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• weight: as used in this chapter in connection with any commodity shall mean net weight. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 5122
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302