§ 5001 Findings; purposes
§ 5002 Definitions
§ 5003 General provisions governing substitute checks
§ 5004 Substitute check warranties
§ 5005 Indemnity
§ 5006 Expedited recredit for consumers
§ 5007 Expedited recredit procedures for banks
§ 5008 Delays in an emergency
§ 5009 Measure of damages
§ 5010 Statute of limitations and notice of claim
§ 5011 Consumer awareness
§ 5012 Effect on other law
§ 5013 Variation by agreement
§ 5014 Regulations
§ 5015 Study and report on funds availability
§ 5016 Statistical reporting of costs and revenues for transporting checks between reserve banks
§ 5017 Evaluation and report by the Comptroller General
§ 5018 Depositary services efficiency and cost reduction

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Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 12 > Chapter 50 - Check Truncation

  • Acquittal:
    1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
    2. A verdict of "not guilty."
     
  • Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
  • Administration: means the National Credit Union Administration. See 12 USC 1752
  • 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.
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • agency: has the meaning given that term in section 551(1) of title 5. See 2 USC 1602
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • alternative trading system: means an organization, association, or group of persons that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • antitrust law: means the Federal Trade Commission Act [15 U. See 15 USC 1802
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Attorney General: means the Attorney General of the United States. See 26 USC 7701
  • 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
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Board: means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See 7 USC 1a
  • Board: means the National Credit Union Administration Board. See 12 USC 1752
  • board of trade: means any organized exchange or other trading facility. See 7 USC 1a
  • branch: includes any branch credit union, branch office, branch agency, additional office, or any branch place of business located in any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the several territories, including the trust territories, and possessions of the United States, the Panama Canal Zone, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, at which member accounts are established or money lent. See 12 USC 1752
  • Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
  • Chairman: means the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board. See 12 USC 1752
  • client: means any person or entity that employs or retains another person for financial or other compensation to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of that person or entity. See 2 USC 1602
  • Commission: means the Commodity Futures Trading Commission established under section 2(a)(2) of this title. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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.
  • commodity: means wheat, cotton, rice, corn, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, grain sorghums, mill feeds, butter, eggs, Solanum tuberosum (Irish potatoes), wool, wool tops, fats and oils (including lard, tallow, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and all other fats and oils), cottonseed meal, cottonseed, peanuts, soybeans, soybean meal, livestock, livestock products, and frozen concentrated orange juice, and all other goods and articles, except onions (as provided by section 13-1 of this title) and motion picture box office receipts (or any index, measure, value, or data related to such receipts), and all services, rights, and interests (except motion picture box office receipts, or any index, measure, value or data related to such receipts) in which contracts for future delivery are presently or in the future dealt in. See 7 USC 1a
  • commodity pool: means any investment trust, syndicate, or similar form of enterprise operated for the purpose of trading in commodity interests, including any&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • commodity pool operator: means any person&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • commodity trading advisor: means any person who&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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 development corporation: means a private, nonprofit corporation whose board of directors is comprised of business, civic and community leaders, and whose principal purpose includes the provision of low-income housing or community economic development projects that primarily benefit low-income individuals and communities. See 34 USC 12211
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conference report: The compromise product negotiated by the conference committee. The "conference report" is submitted to each chamber for its consideration, such as approval or disapproval.
  • Congressional Record: The substantially verbatim account of daily proceedings in Congress. It is printed for each day Congress is in session. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • contract of sale: includes sales, agreements of sale, and agreements to sell. See 7 USC 1a
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • cooperative association of producers: means any cooperative association, corporate, or otherwise, not less than 75 percent in good faith owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by producers of agricultural products and otherwise complying with sections 291 and 292 of this title, including any organization acting for a group of such associations and owned or controlled by such associations, except that business done for or with the United States, or any agency thereof, shall not be considered either member or nonmember business in determining the compliance of any such association with this chapter. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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.
  • corporation: includes associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies. See 26 USC 7701
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
  • covered executive branch official: means &mdash. See 2 USC 1602
  • covered legislative branch official: means &mdash. See 2 USC 1602
  • 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.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • derivatives clearing organization: means a clearinghouse, clearing association, clearing corporation, or similar entity, facility, system, or organization that, with respect to an agreement, contract, or transaction&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • 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.
  • domestic: when applied to a corporation or partnership means created or organized in the United States or under the law of the United States or of any State unless, in the case of a partnership, the Secretary provides otherwise by regulations. See 26 USC 7701
  • Donee: The recipient of a gift.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • electronic trading facility: means a trading facility that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • employee: means any individual who is an officer, employee, partner, director, or proprietor of a person or entity, but does not include&mdash. See 2 USC 1602
  • employee: shall include a full-time life insurance salesman who is considered an employee for the purpose of chapter 21. See 26 USC 7701
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • 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
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • 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.
  • Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Facility: means the National Credit Union Central Liquidity Facility. See 12 USC 1795a
  • failing newspaper: means a newspaper publication which, regardless of its ownership or affiliations, is in probable danger of financial failure. See 15 USC 1802
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. Source: OCC
  • 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 credit union: means a cooperative association organized in accordance with the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for provident or productive purposes. See 12 USC 1752
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Source: OCC
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • financial institution: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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.
  • Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
    • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
    • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
    • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
  • floor broker: means any person&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • floor trader: means any person&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
  • 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
  • foreign: when applied to a corporation or partnership means a corporation or partnership which is not domestic. See 26 USC 7701
  • foreign entity: means a foreign principal (as defined in section 1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U. See 2 USC 1602
  • foreign estate: means an estate the income of which, from sources without the United States which is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, is not includible in gross income under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • foreign futures authority: means any foreign government, or any department, agency, governmental body, or regulatory organization empowered by a foreign government to administer or enforce a law, rule, or regulation as it relates to a futures or options matter, or any department or agency of a political subdivision of a foreign government empowered to administer or enforce a law, rule, or regulation as it relates to a futures or options matter. See 7 USC 1a
  • foreign trust: means any trust other than a trust described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (30). See 26 USC 7701
  • 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.
  • Fund: means the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. See 12 USC 1752
  • futures commission merchant: means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.
  • Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC
  • 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.
  • housing accommodations: means housing designed for occupancy by military personnel and their dependents, assigned to duty at or near the military installation where such housing units are constructed. See 12 USC 1748
  • including: when used in a definition contained in this title shall not be deemed to exclude other things otherwise within the meaning of the term defined. See 26 USC 7701
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • 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 every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • insured credit union: means any credit union the member accounts of which are insured in accordance with the provisions of subchapter II of this chapter, and the term "noninsured credit union" means any credit union the member accounts of which are not so insured. See 12 USC 1752
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • interstate commerce: means commerce&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • introducing broker: means any person (except an individual who elects to be and is registered as an associated person of a futures commission merchant)&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
  • joint newspaper operating arrangement: means any contract, agreement, joint venture (whether or not incorporated), or other arrangement entered into by two or more newspaper owners for the publication of two or more newspaper publications, pursuant to which joint or common production facilities are established or operated and joint or unified action is taken or agreed to be taken with respect to any one or more of the following: printing. See 15 USC 1802
  • Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
  • Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • 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.
  • Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
  • liquidity needs: means the needs of credit unions primarily serving natural persons for&mdash. See 12 USC 1795a
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • lobbying activities: means lobbying contacts and efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation and planning activities, research and other background work that is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in contacts, and coordination with the lobbying activities of others. See 2 USC 1602
  • lobbying contact: means any oral or written communication (including an electronic communication) to a covered executive branch official or a covered legislative branch official that is made on behalf of a client with regard to&mdash. See 2 USC 1602
  • lobbying firm: means a person or entity that has 1 or more employees who are lobbyists on behalf of a client other than that person or entity. See 2 USC 1602
  • lobbyist: means any individual who is employed or retained by a client for financial or other compensation for services that include more than one lobbying contact, other than an individual whose lobbying activities constitute less than 20 percent of the time engaged in the services provided by such individual to that client over a 3-month period. See 2 USC 1602
  • major swap participant: means any person who is not a swap dealer, and&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
  • Majority whip: See Whips.
  • management: means any person who organizes, exercises control over, or administers or who is responsible for organizing, directing, or administering. See 15 USC 1821
  • maturity date: means the date on which the mortgage indebtedness would be extinguished if paid in accordance with periodic payments provided for in the mortgage. See 12 USC 1736
  • maturity date: means the date on which the mortgage indebtedness would be extinguished if paid in accordance with periodic payments provided for in the mortgage. See 12 USC 1748
  • media organization: means a person or entity engaged in disseminating information to the general public through a newspaper, magazine, other publication, radio, television, cable television, or other medium of mass communication. See 2 USC 1602
  • member: means , with respect to a registered entity or derivatives transaction execution facility, an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • member: means a Regular or an Agent member of the Facility. See 12 USC 1795a
  • Member of Congress: means a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress. See 2 USC 1602
  • military: includes Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. See 12 USC 1748
  • Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
  • Minority whip: See Whips.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • mortgage: means a first mortgage on real estate, in fee simple, or on a leasehold (1) under a lease for not less than ninety-nine years which is renewable. See 12 USC 1736
  • mortgage: means a first mortgage on real estate, in fee simple, or on a leasehold (1) under a lease for not less than ninety-nine years which is renewable. See 12 USC 1748
  • Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • mortgagee: includes the original lender under a mortgage, and his successors and assigns approved by the Secretary. See 12 USC 1736
  • mortgagee: includes the original lender under a mortgage, and his successors and assigns approved by the Secretary. See 12 USC 1748
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • mortgagor: includes the original borrower under a mortgage and his successors and assigns. See 12 USC 1736
  • mortgagor: includes the original borrower under a mortgage, his successors and assigns. See 12 USC 1748
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • national crime information databases: refers to the National Crime Information Center and its incorporated criminal history databases, including the Interstate Identification Index. See 34 USC 12410
  • newspaper publication: means a publication produced on newsprint paper which is published in one or more issues weekly (including as one publication any daily newspaper and any Sunday newspaper published by the same owner in the same city, community, or metropolitan area), and in which a substantial portion of the content is devoted to the dissemination of news and editorial opinion. See 15 USC 1802
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • nonrecognition transaction: means any disposition of property in a transaction in which gain or loss is not recognized in whole or in part for purposes of subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • oath: includes affirmation, and "sworn" includes affirmed. See 1 USC 1
  • 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.
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
  • organization: means a person or entity other than an individual. See 2 USC 1602
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • paid or accrued: shall be construed according to the method of accounting upon the basis of which the taxable income is computed under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • paid-in and unimpaired capital and surplus: means the balance of the paid-in share accounts and deposits as of a given date, less any loss that may have been incurred for which there is no reserve or which has not been charged against undivided earnings, plus the credit balance (or less the debit balance) of the undivided earnings account as of a given date, after all losses have been provided for and net earnings or net losses have been added thereto or deducted therefrom. See 12 USC 1795a
  • partner: includes a member in such a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or organization. See 26 USC 7701
  • 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.
  • partnership: includes a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization, through or by means of which any business, financial operation, or venture is carried on, and which is not, within the meaning of this title, a trust or estate or a corporation. See 26 USC 7701
  • person: import s the plural or singular, and includes individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts. See 7 USC 1a
  • person: means any individual, and any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity existing under or authorized by the law of the United States, any State or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any foreign country. See 15 USC 1802
  • person: shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See 26 USC 7701
  • person or entity: means any individual, corporation, company, foundation, association, labor organization, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, group of organizations, or State or local government. See 2 USC 1602
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • personnel: shall include military and civilian personnel approved by the Secretary of Defense, or his designee, and the dependents of all such personnel. See 12 USC 1748
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • 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.
  • Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • prudential regulator: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • public official: means any elected official, appointed official, or employee of&mdash. See 2 USC 1602
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • registered entity: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury. See 7 USC 1a
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture. See 15 USC 1821
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. See 26 USC 7701
  • security: means a security as defined in section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
  • Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. Source: U.S. Courts
  • 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.
  • Sole ownership: The type of property ownership in which one individual holds legal title to the property and has full control of it.
  • sore: when used to describe a horse means that&mdash. See 15 USC 1821
  • State: means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 2 USC 1602
  • State: means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. See 15 USC 1821
  • State: includes the several States, and Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. See 12 USC 1736
  • State: includes the several States, and Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone, and Midway Island. See 12 USC 1748
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • stock: includes shares in an association, joint-stock company, or insurance company. See 26 USC 7701
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
  • subscription: includes a mark when the person making the same intended it as such. See 1 USC 1
  • substituted basis property: means property which is&mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • swap: includes a master agreement that provides for an agreement, contract, or transaction that is a swap under subparagraph (A), together with each supplement to any master agreement, without regard to whether the master agreement contains an agreement, contract, or transaction that is not a swap pursuant to subparagraph (A). See 7 USC 1a
  • swap data repository: means any person that collects and maintains information or records with respect to transactions or positions in, or the terms and conditions of, swaps entered into by third parties for the purpose of providing a centralized recordkeeping facility for swaps. See 7 USC 1a
  • swap dealer: means any person who&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • swap execution facility: means a trading system or platform in which multiple participants have the ability to execute or trade swaps by accepting bids and offers made by multiple participants in the facility or system, through any means of interstate commerce, including any trading facility, that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • target area: means any area defined in an application for assistance under this part that has a population whose income does not exceed the median for the area within which the target area is located. See 34 USC 12211
  • taxable year: means the calendar year, or the fiscal year ending during such calendar year, upon the basis of which the taxable income is computed under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • taxpayer: means any person subject to any internal revenue tax. See 26 USC 7701
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • 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.
  • trade or business: includes the performance of the functions of a public office. See 26 USC 7701
  • trading facility: means a person or group of persons that constitutes, maintains, or provides a physical or electronic facility or system in which multiple participants have the ability to execute or trade agreements, contracts, or transactions&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • transaction: includes a series of transactions. See 26 USC 7701
  • 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.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
  • United States: when used in a geographical sense includes only the States and the District of Columbia. See 26 USC 7701
  • United States person: means &mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
  • vehicle: includes every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land. See 1 USC 4
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3
  • whoever: include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. See 1 USC 1
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1