Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 15 > Chapter 98 - Public Company Accounting Reform and Corporate Responsibility

• agricultural research: means research in the food and agricultural sciences. See 7 USC 3103
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• aquaculture: means the propagation and rearing of aquacultural species, including, but not limited to, any species of finfish, mollusk, or crustacean (or other aquatic invertebrate), amphibian, reptile, ornamental fish, or aquatic plant, in controlled or selected environments. See 7 USC 3103
• 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.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• cooperating forestry school: means an institution&mdash. See 7 USC 3103
• county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department of Agriculture: means the United States Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 3103
• 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:
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• extension: means the informal education programs conducted in the States in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 3103
• 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}
• 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}
• food and agricultural sciences: means basic, applied, and developmental research, extension, and teaching activities in food and fiber, agricultural, renewable energy and natural resources, forestry, and physical and social sciences, including activities relating to the following:

  (A) Animal health, production, and well-being. See 7 USC 3103

• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities: means colleges or universities&mdash. See 7 USC 3103
• land-grant colleges and universities: means those institutions eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. See 7 USC 3103
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• narcotic: means opium and coca leaves and the several alkaloids derived therefrom, the best known of these alkaloids being morphia, heroin, and codeine, obtained from opium, and cocaine derived from the coca plant. See 42 USC 201
• 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.
• 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}
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. See 7 USC 3103
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 42 USC 201
• Service: means the Public Health Service. See 42 USC 201
• State: means &mdash. See 7 USC 3103
• State: includes , in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. See 42 USC 201
• 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.
• university: include a research foundation maintained by a college or university described in subparagraph (A). See 7 USC 3103
• 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.