Terms Used In Louisiana Codes > Code of Civil Procedure > BOOK I > Title III - Parties

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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}
• Bylaws: means those bylaws established by the Interstate Commission for its governance, or for directing or controlling its actions or conduct. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Caretaker: means any person legally obligated to provide or secure adequate care for a child, including a parent, tutor, guardian, legal custodian, foster home parent, or other person providing a residence for the child. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Commissioner: means the voting representative of each compacting state appointed pursuant to Article 1663 of this compact. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Compact administrator: means the individual in each compacting state appointed pursuant to the terms of this compact, responsible for the administration and management of the state's supervision and transfer of juveniles subject to the terms of this compact, the rules adopted by the Interstate Commission and policies adopted by the State Council under this compact. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Compacting state: means any state which has enacted the enabling legislation for this compact. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Conditional discharge: means the physical release of a judicially committed minor from a treatment facility by the director or by the court. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Court: means any court having jurisdiction over delinquent, neglected, or dependent children. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• 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.
• Department: means the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• 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.
• Deputy compact administrator: means the individual, if any, in each compacting state appointed to act on behalf of a compact administrator pursuant to the terms of this compact responsible for the administration and management of the state's supervision and transfer of juveniles subject to the terms of this compact, the rules adopted by the Interstate Commission and policies adopted by the State Council under this compact. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Diagnosis: means the art and science of determining the presence of disease in an individual and distinguishing one disease from another. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Discharge: means the full or conditional release from a treatment facility of any minor admitted or otherwise detained under this Title. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Formal voluntary admission: means the admission of a minor suffering from mental illness or substance abuse desiring admission to a treatment facility for diagnosis or treatment of such condition, or both, who may be formally admitted upon his written request. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• 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.
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interstate Commission: means the Interstate Commission for Juveniles created by Article 1663 of this compact. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Juvenile: means any person defined as a juvenile in any member state or by the rules of the Interstate Commission, including any of the following:

  (a)  "Accused delinquent" means a person charged with an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662

• Legal custody: means a legal status created by court order that vests in a custodian the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline and to provide food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical care, all subject to any residual parental rights and responsibilities. See Louisiana Children's Code 1511
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mental Health Advocacy Service: means a service established by the state of Louisiana for the purpose of providing legal counsel and representation for persons with mental disabilities and for children and to ensure that their legal rights are protected. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• MHAS: means Mental Health Advocacy Service, as established by Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Mistrial: An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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.
• Patient: means any person detained and taken care of as a person with mental illness or person suffering from substance abuse. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Physical custody: means the duty and authority to provide care for a child in the home of the custodian. See Louisiana Children's Code 1511
• 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.
• 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.
• Pretrial conference: A meeting of the judge and lawyers to discuss which matters should be presented to the jury, to review evidence and witnesses, to set a timetable, and to discuss the settlement of the case.
• 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.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Respondent: means a person alleged to be mentally ill or suffering from substance abuse and for whom an application for commitment to a treatment facility has been filed. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Rule: means a written statement by the Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Article 1666 of this compact that is of general applicability, implements, interprets or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact, or an organizational, procedural, or practice requirement of the commission, and has the force and effect of statutory law in a compacting state, and includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension or an existing rule. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• 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 a state of the United States, the District of Columbia or its designee, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas Islands. See Louisiana Children's Code 1662
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substance abuse: means the condition of a person who uses narcotic, stimulant, depressant, soporific, tranquilizing, or hallucinogenic drugs or alcohol to the extent that it renders the person dangerous to himself or others or renders the person gravely disabled. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• superintendent: means a person in charge of a treatment facility or his deputy. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• 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.
• Treatment: means an active effort to accomplish an improvement in the mental condition or behavior of a patient or to prevent deterioration in his condition or behavior. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Treatment facility: means any public or private hospital, retreat, institution, mental health center, or facility licensed by the state of Louisiana in which any mentally ill minor or minor suffering from substance abuse is received or detained as a patient except a facility under the control or supervision of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections unless otherwise provided in Title VIII of this Code. See Louisiana Children's Code 1404
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Voluntary transfer of custody: is a parent's knowing and voluntary relinquishment of legal custody to an agency, institution, or individual, subject to residual parental rights retained by the parent and under such terms and conditions that enable the child to receive adequate care and treatment. See Louisiana Children's Code 1511