Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes > Developmental Disabilities Services Act

• Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• 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.
• Attorney: shall mean attorney at law. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Department: shall mean the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services. See Nebraska Statutes 83-1204
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Developmental disability: shall mean a severe, chronic disability, including an intellectual disability, other than mental illness, which:

  (1) Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment unless the impairment is solely attributable to a severe emotional disturbance or persistent mental illness. See Nebraska Statutes 83-1205

• Director: shall mean the Director of Developmental Disabilities of the Division of Developmental Disabilities. See Nebraska Statutes 83-1206
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Intellectual disability: means significant subaverage general intellectual functioning which is associated with significant impairments in adaptive functioning manifested before the age of twenty-two years. See Nebraska Statutes 83-1206.01
• 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.
• 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.
• Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• 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.
• Process: shall mean a summons, subpoena, or notice to appear issued out of a court in the course of judicial proceedings. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• 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.
• Specialized program: shall mean an agency, organization, association, or other entity which provides specialized services. See Nebraska Statutes 83-1207
• Specialized service: shall mean a service provided specifically for persons with developmental disabilities. See Nebraska Statutes 83-1208
• State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• 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.
• United States: shall include territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Year: shall mean calendar year. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801