Terms Used In Oregon Statutes > Chapter 2 - Supreme Court; Court of Appeals

• Action: means any proceeding commenced in a court in which the court may render a judgment. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Adjudicated youth: means a person who has been found to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court under ORS § 419C. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• 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.
• Another planned permanent living arrangement: means an out-of-home placement for a ward 16 years of age or older that is consistent with the case plan and in the best interests of the ward other than placement:

  (a) By adoption;

  (b) With a legal guardian; or

  (c) With a fit and willing relative. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004

• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Any other state: includes any state and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• CASA Volunteer Program: means a program that is approved or sanctioned by a juvenile court, has received accreditation from the National CASA Association and has entered into a contract with the statewide coordinating entity contracted with by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services under ORS § 184. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• 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: includes any incorporated village or town. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conflict of interest: means a person appointed to a local citizen review board who has a personal or pecuniary interest in a case being reviewed by that board. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Counselor: means a juvenile department counselor or a county juvenile probation officer. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• County court: includes board of county commissioners. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Court: means the juvenile court. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Court administrator: means a trial court administrator in a circuit court that has a trial court administrator and the clerk of the court in all other courts. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Court appointed special advocate: means a person in a CASA Volunteer Program who is appointed by the court to act as a court appointed special advocate pursuant to ORS § 419B. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• 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 Human Services. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• detention facility: means a facility established under ORS § 419A. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the director of a juvenile department established under ORS § 419A. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Execution: means enforcement of the money award portion of a judgment or enforcement of a judgment requiring delivery of the possession or sale of specific real or personal property, by means of writs of execution, writs of garnishment and other statutory or common law writs or remedies that may be available under the law. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Exhibits: means exhibits offered and received or rejected in the trial court. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{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
• Gender identity: means an individual's gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior, regardless of whether the identity, appearance, expression or behavior differs from that associated with the gender assigned to the individual at birth. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• 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.
• Guardian: means guardian of the person and not guardian of the estate. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Indian child: has the meaning given that term in ORS § 419B. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• Judgment: means the concluding decision of a court on one or more requests for relief in one or more actions, as reflected in a judgment document. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Judgment: means a judgment or appealable order, as provided in ORS § 19. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• Judgment document: means a writing in the form provided by ORS § 18. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• judicial department: means the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Oregon Tax Court, the circuit courts and all administrative divisions of those courts, whether denominated as boards, commissions, committees or departments or by any other designation. See Oregon Statutes 174.113
• 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.
• Juvenile court: means the court having jurisdiction of juvenile matters in the several counties of this state. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local citizen review board: means the board specified by ORS § 419A. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• local government: means all cities, counties and local service districts located in this state, and all administrative subdivisions of those cities, counties and local service districts. See Oregon Statutes 174.116
• Money award: means a judgment or portion of a judgment that requires the payment of money. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Notice of appeal: includes a notice of cross-appeal. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means the biological or adoptive mother and the legal parent of the child, ward, youth or adjudicated youth. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• public body: means state government bodies, local government bodies and special government bodies. See Oregon Statutes 174.109
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reasonable and prudent parent standard: means the standard, characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety and best interests of a child or ward while encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child or ward, that a substitute care provider shall use when determining whether to allow a child or ward in substitute care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural and social activities. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Records: means any information in written form, pictures, photographs, charts, graphs, recordings or documents pertaining to a case. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• 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.
• sexual offense: has the meaning given the term 'sex crime' in ORS § 163A. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Sexual orientation: means an individual's actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Shelter care: means a home or other facility suitable for the safekeeping of a child, ward, youth or adjudicated youth who is taken into temporary custody pending investigation and disposition. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Sibling: means one of two or more children or wards related:

  (a) By blood or adoption through a common legal parent; or

  (b) Through the marriage of the children's or wards' legal or biological parents. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004

• state government: means the executive department, the judicial department and the legislative department. See Oregon Statutes 174.111
• State Treasury: includes those financial assets the lawful custody of which are vested in the State Treasurer and the office of the State Treasurer relating to the custody of those financial assets. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substitute care: means an out-of-home placement directly supervised by the department or other agency, including placement in a foster family home, group home, child-caring agency as defined in ORS § 418. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Supersedeas undertaking: means an undertaking on appeal that secures performance of a judgment being appealed and operates to stay enforcement of the judgment pending appeal. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• Supplemental judgment: means a judgment that may be rendered after a general judgment pursuant to a legal authority. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Support award: means a money award or agency order that requires the payment of child or spousal support. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
• Surrogate: means a person appointed by the court to protect the right of the child, ward, youth or adjudicated youth to receive procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of free appropriate public education. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Transcript: means the transcript of the court reporter's report as provided in ORS § 8. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Undertaking for costs: means an undertaking on appeal that secures payment of costs and disbursements that may be awarded against an appellant on appeal, and any amounts that may be awarded to the respondent under the provisions of ORS § 19. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• Undertaking on appeal: includes undertakings for costs and supersedeas undertakings. See Oregon Statutes 19.005
• United States: includes territories, outlying possessions and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• victim: includes the legal guardian of the minor. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Ward: means a person within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court under ORS § 419B. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• Youth: means a person under 18 years of age who is alleged to have committed an act that is a violation, or, if done by an adult would constitute a violation, of a law or ordinance of the United States or a state, county or city. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004
• Youth care center: has the meaning given that term in ORS § 420. See Oregon Statutes 419A.004