Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes > Title 9-A > Article 2 > Part 5 - Consumer Credit Transactions: Other Charges and Modifications

• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• 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.
• bail: means the obtaining of the release of the defendant upon an undertaking that the defendant shall appear at the time and place required and that the defendant shall conform to each condition imposed in accordance with section 1026 that is designed to ensure that the defendant shall refrain from any new criminal conduct, to ensure the integrity of the judicial process and to ensure the safety of others in the community. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• 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.
• Capital offense: A crime punishable by death.
• 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.
• Conflicting enactments: means multiple enactments, amendments, repeals, reallocations or reenactments, or any combination of these actions, that affect the same statutory unit and that have been adopted by multiple Acts passed within one legislative session or within a regular legislative session and any special sessions preceding the next regular legislative session that do not refer to each other. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 91
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Court: means any Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or Superior Court or any active retired justice and any District Court Judge or active retired judge when assigned under Title 4, section 157?C. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Crime bailable as of right preconviction: means a crime for which, under the Constitution of Maine, Article I, Section 10, a defendant has an absolute right to have bail set at the preconviction stage of any criminal proceeding. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• ensure the integrity of the judicial process: when used in the context of the granting or denial of bail, means safeguarding the role of the courts in adjudicating the guilt or innocence of defendants by ensuring the presence of the defendant in court and otherwise preventing the defendant from obstructing or attempting to obstruct justice by threatening, injuring or intimidating a victim, prospective witness, juror, attorney for the State, judge, justice or other officer of the court. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Ensure the safety of others in the community: when used in the context of the granting or denial of bail, means protecting community members, other than those already protected under subsection 5, from the potential danger posed by the defendant to a specific person or to persons in the community generally. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• 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.
• Executive director: means the Executive Director of the Legislative Council appointed under Title 3, section 162. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 91
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• Failure to appear: includes a failure to appear at the time or place required by a release order and the failure to surrender into custody at the time and place required by a release order or by the Maine Rules of Unified Criminal Procedure, Rule 32(a) and Rule 38(d). See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Harnish bail proceeding: means a preconviction bail proceeding in which the State is offered the opportunity to obtain a judicial finding of probable cause that the defendant has committed a formerly capital offense, and the defendant, at the same proceeding, is afforded the opportunity to know and rebut the case against the defendant. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• 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.
• in writing: include printing and other modes of making legible words. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• 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.
• Judicial officer: includes the court, as defined in subsection 2, and a bail commissioner. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• 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.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• 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}
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Month: means a calendar month. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• New criminal conduct: refers to criminal activity by a defendant occurring after bail has been set. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Open-end credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or revolving credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Post-conviction: means any point in a criminal proceeding after a verdict or finding of guilty or after the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Preconviction: means any point in a criminal proceeding before a verdict in the context of a jury trial or finding of guilty in the context of a jury-waived trial or before the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Real estate: includes lands and all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Revision clause: means a section of a law that is not allocated to the Maine Revised Statutes and that changes a term throughout the laws and instructs the revisor to implement the revision as part of update. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 91
• Revisor: means the Revisor of Statutes, or the person under Title 3, section 162 who is responsible for the form and format of legislative instruments. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 91
• Statutory unit: means a title, subtitle, part, subpart, chapter, subchapter, article, subarticle, section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, division or subdivision of the laws of Maine. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 91
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Unified Criminal Docket: means the unified criminal docket established by the Supreme Judicial Court. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1003
• United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Update: means the process by which enactments, amendments, repeals, reallocations or reenactments from a legislative session or sessions are integrated into the statutory data base of the Maine Revised Statutes. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 91
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72