Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 19.2 > Chapter 19.3 - Issuance of Writ of Actual Innocence Based on Nonbiological Evidence

• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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.
• County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Court: means any court vested with appropriate jurisdiction under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 19.2-5
• Governing body: means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• 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.
• local government: shall be construed to mean a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• 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.
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 1-206
• Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Voter: means a qualified voter as defined in § Virginia Code 15.2-102
• 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.