Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 4 > Chapter 4 - The States

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Administrator: means the Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration. See 16 USC 838a
• Administrator: means the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration. See 16 USC 839a
• Administrator: means the individual or organization designated by the Pacific Island Parties to act on their behalf under the Treaty and notified to the United States Government. See 16 USC 973
• 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.
• 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.
• affiliate: means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company. See 15 USC 6809
• 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 for International Development: includes any successor agency primarily responsible for administering part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U. See 5 USC 409
• 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.
• 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.
• applicable national law: means any provision of law of a Pacific Island Party which is described in paragraph 1(a) of Annex I of the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• 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 or his designee. See 34 USC 10251
• Authorized Officer: means any officer who is authorized by the Secretary, or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, or the head of any Federal or State agency which has entered into an enforcement agreement with the Secretary under section 973h(a) of this title. See 16 USC 973
• Authorized Party Officer: means any officer authorized by a Pacific Island Party to enforce the provisions of the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• 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.
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• 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.
• billing error: consists of any of the following:

  (A) A reflection on a billing statement for a telephone-billed purchase which was not made by the customer or, if made, was not in the amount reflected on such statement. See 15 USC 5724

• Board: means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See 7 USC 1a
• board of trade: means any organized exchange or other trading facility. See 7 USC 1a
• capital cost: includes interest during construction, wherever appropriate. See 16 USC 460l-21
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
• cleared swap: means any swap that is, directly or indirectly, submitted to and cleared by a derivatives clearing organization registered with the Commission. See 7 USC 1a
• Closed Area: means any of the closed areas identified in Schedule 2 of Annex I of the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• commerce: means commerce between any State or the District of Columbia and any place outside thereof, or between points within the same State or the District of Columbia but through any place outside thereof, or within the District of Columbia. See 7 USC 62
• Commission: means the Commodity Futures Trading Commission established under section 2(a)(2) of this title. See 7 USC 1a
• Commission: means the Great Lakes Fishery Commission provided for by article II of the convention. See 16 USC 931
• Commission: means the Federal Trade Commission. See 15 USC 5724
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. See 26 USC 7701
• 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.
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• Conference committee: A temporary, ad hoc panel composed of conferees from both chamber of a legislature which is formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. Conference committees are usually convened to resolve bicameral differences on major and controversial legislation.
• Conservation: means any reduction in electric power consumption as a result of increases in the efficiency of energy use, production, or distribution. See 16 USC 839a
• Consumer: means any end user of electric power. See 16 USC 839a
• consumer: means an individual who obtains, from a financial institution, financial products or services which are to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and also means the legal representative of such an individual. See 15 USC 6809
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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
• Convention: means the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries between the United States of America and Canada signed at Washington, September 10, 1954. See 16 USC 931
• 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
• correctional option: includes community-based incarceration, weekend incarceration, boot camp prison, electronic monitoring of offenders, intensive probation, and any other innovative punishment designed to have the greatest impact on offenders who can be punished more effectively in an environment other than a traditional correctional facility. See 34 USC 10251
• Cost-effective: when applied to any measure or resource referred to in this chapter, means that such measure or resource must be forecast&mdash. See 16 USC 839a
• cotton: means cotton of any variety produced within the continental United States, including linters. See 7 USC 62
• Council: means , unless otherwise specifically provided, the members appointed to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council established pursuant to section 839b of this title. See 16 USC 839a
• 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
• court: means a tribunal recognized as a part of the judicial branch of a State or of its local government units. See 34 USC 10251
• Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. ^{Source: OCC}
• criminal justice: means activities pertaining to crime prevention, control, or reduction, or the enforcement of the criminal law, including, but not limited to, police efforts to prevent, control, or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals, including juveniles, activities of courts having criminal jurisdiction, and related agencies (including but not limited to prosecutorial and defender services, juvenile delinquency agencies and pretrial service or release agencies), activities of corrections, probation, or parole authorities and related agencies assisting in the rehabilitation, supervision, and care of criminal offenders, and programs relating to the prevention, control, or reduction of narcotic addiction and juvenile delinquency. See 34 USC 10251
• Customer: means anyone who contracts for the purchase of power from the Administrator pursuant to this chapter. See 16 USC 839a
• customer: means any person who acquires or attempts to acquire goods or services in a telephone-billed purchase. See 15 USC 5724
• cyber-physical systems: means physical or engineered systems whose networking and information technology functions and physical elements are deeply integrated and are actively connected to the physical world through sensors, actuators, or other means to enable safe and effective, real-time performance in safety-critical and other applications. See 15 USC 5503
• 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.
• department: means one of the executive departments enumerated in section 1 of Title 5, unless the context shows that such term was intended to describe the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the government. See 18 USC 6
• Department of Agriculture: means the United States Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 75
• 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.
• Direct service industrial customer: means an industrial customer that contracts for the purchase of power from the Administrator for direct consumption. See 16 USC 839a
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. See 15 USC 5503
• 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
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• electric power: means electric peaking capacity or electric energy, or both. See 16 USC 838a
• Electric power: means electric peaking capacity, or electric energy, or both. See 16 USC 839a
• electronic trading facility: means a trading facility that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• eligible commercial entity: means , with respect to an agreement, contract or transaction in a commodity&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• eligible contract participant: means &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: shall include a full-time life insurance salesman who is considered an employee for the purpose of chapter 21. See 26 USC 7701
• enrolled actuary: means a person who is enrolled by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries established under subtitle C of the title III of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. 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}
• evaluation: means the administration and conduct of studies and analyses to determine the impact and value of a project or program in accomplishing the statutory objectives of this chapter. See 34 USC 10251
• 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.
• excluded commodity: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• 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
• export elevator: means any grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility in the United States as determined by the Secretary, from which grain is shipped from the United States to an area outside thereof. See 7 USC 75
• export grain: means grain for shipment from the United States to any place outside thereof. See 7 USC 75
• export port location: means a commonly recognized port of export in the United States or Canada, as determined by the Secretary, from which grain produced in the United States is shipped to any place outside the United States. See 7 USC 75
• 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 Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ^{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.
• feasibility report: shall mean any report of the scope required by the Congress when formally considering authorization of the project of which the report treats. See 16 USC 460l-21
• Federal base system resources: means &mdash. See 16 USC 839a
• 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 functional regulator: means &mdash. See 15 USC 6809
• 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.
• fiduciary: means a guardian, trustee, executor, administrator, receiver, conservator, or any person acting in any fiduciary capacity for any person. See 26 USC 7701
• financial institution: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• financial institution: means any institution the business of which is engaging in financial activities as described in section 1843(k) of title 12. See 15 USC 6809
• 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.
• fishing: means &mdash. See 16 USC 973
• 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: when applied to a corporation or partnership means a corporation or partnership which is not domestic. See 26 USC 7701
• foreign commerce: as used in this title , includes commerce with a foreign country. See 18 USC 10
• foreign exchange forward: means a transaction that solely involves the exchange of 2 different currencies on a specific future date at a fixed rate agreed upon on the inception of the contract covering the exchange. See 7 USC 1a
• foreign exchange swap: means a transaction that solely involves&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• 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 government: as used in this title except in sections 112, 878, 970, 1116, and 1201, includes any government, faction, or body of insurgents within a country with which the United States is at peace, irrespective of recognition by the United States. See 18 USC 11
• 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.
• 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}
• 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.
• grain: means corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flaxseed, sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and any other food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds for which standards are established under section 76 of this title. See 7 USC 75
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Great Lakes: means any of the following bodies of water: Lake Ontario (including the Saint Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to the forty-fifth parallel of latitude), Lake Erie, Lake Huron (including Lake Saint Clair), Lake Michigan, or Lake Superior. See 16 USC 931
• Great Lakes State: means any of the following States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. See 16 USC 931
• 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.
• high-end computing: means the most advanced and capable computing systems, including their hardware, storage, networking and software, encompassing both massive computational capability and large-scale data analytics to solve computational problems of national importance that are beyond the capability of small- to medium-scale systems, including computing formerly known as high-performance computing. See 15 USC 5503
• hybrid instrument: means a security having one or more payments indexed to the value, level, or rate of, or providing for the delivery of, one or more commodities. See 7 USC 1a
• 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
• Indian tribe: means any Indian tribe or band which is located in whole or in part in the region and which has a governing body which is recognized by the Secretary of the Interior. See 16 USC 839a
• 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
• individual retirement plan: means &mdash. See 26 USC 7701
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• 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}
• interested person: means any person having a contract or other financial interest in grain as the owner, seller, purchaser, warehouseman, or carrier, or otherwise. See 7 USC 75
• interstate commerce: means commerce&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• interstate or foreign commerce: means commerce from any State to or through any other State, or to or through any foreign country. See 7 USC 75
• intracompany shipment: means the shipment, within the United States, of grain lots between facilities owned or controlled by the person owning the grain. See 7 USC 75
• 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 costs: means the difference between the capital cost of the entire multiple-purpose project and the sum of the separable costs for all project purposes. See 16 USC 460l-21
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• joint return: means a single return made jointly under section 6013 by a husband and wife. See 26 USC 7701
• 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.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Law clerk: Assist judges with research and drafting of opinions.
• 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.
• levy: includes the power of distraint and seizure by any means. See 26 USC 7701
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensing Area: means all waters in the Treaty Area except for&mdash. See 16 USC 973
• licensing period: means the period of validity of licenses issued in accordance with the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limited Area: means any area so identified in Schedule 3 of Annex I of the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• lot: means a specific quantity of grain identified as such. See 7 USC 75
• Magistrate judges: Judicial officers who assist U.S. district judges in getting cases ready for trial, who may decide some criminal and civil trials when both parties agree to have the case heard by a magistrate judge instead of a judge.
• Major resource: means any resource that&mdash. See 16 USC 839a
• major security-based swap participant: has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
• 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.
• master: means the person having the command of the vessel. See 19 USC 1401
• 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
• merchandise: means goods, wares, and chattels of every description, and includes merchandise the importation of which is prohibited, and monetary instruments as defined in section 5312 of title 31. See 19 USC 1401
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Minority whip: See Whips.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• municipalities: as used in this chapter shall be construed to include the public agencies of any of them unless the context requires a different construction. See 16 USC 831i
• narrow-based security index: means an index&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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}
• networking and information technology: means high-end computing, communications, and information technologies, high-capacity and high-speed networks, special purpose and experimental systems, high-end computing systems software and applications software, and the management of large data sets. See 15 USC 5503
• New large single load: means any load associated with a new facility, an existing facility, or an expansion of an existing facility&mdash. See 16 USC 839a
• 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.
• nonaffiliated third party: means any entity that is not an affiliate of, or related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control with, the financial institution, but does not include a joint employee of such institution. See 15 USC 6809
• nonpublic personal information: means personally identifiable financial information&mdash. See 15 USC 6809
• 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
• official agency: means any State or local governmental agency, or any person, designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f) of section 79 of this title for the conduct of official inspection (other than appeal inspection), or subsection (c) of section 79a of this title for the conduct of official weighing or supervision of weighing (other than appeal weighing). See 7 USC 75
• official grade designation: means a numerical or sample grade designation, specified in the standards relating to kind, class, quality, and condition of grain, provided for in this chapter. See 7 USC 75
• official inspection: means the determination (by original inspection, and when requested, reinspection and appeal inspection) and the certification, by official inspection personnel of the kind, class, quality, or condition of grain, under standards provided for in this chapter, or the condition of vessels and other carriers or receptacles for the transportation of grain insofar as it may affect the quality or condition of such grain. See 7 USC 75
• official inspection personnel: means persons licensed or otherwise authorized by the Secretary pursuant to section 84 of this title to perform all or specified functions involved in official inspection, official weighing, or supervision of weighing, or in the supervision of official inspection, official weighing or supervision of weighing. See 7 USC 75
• official mark: means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the Secretary to show the official determination of official inspection or official weighing. See 7 USC 75
• official sample: means a sample obtained from a lot of grain by, and submitted for official inspection by, official inspection personnel (the term "official sampling" shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
• official sampling: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
• official weighing: means the determination and certification by official inspection personnel of the quantity of a lot of grain under standards provided for in this chapter, based on the actual performance of weighing or the physical supervision thereof, including the physical inspection and testing for accuracy of the weights and scales and the physical inspection of the premises at which the weighing is performed and the monitoring of the discharge of grain into the elevator or conveyance (the terms "officially weigh" and "officially weighed" shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
• officially inspected: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
• officially weighed: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
• operator: means any person who is in charge of, directs or controls a vessel, including the owner, charterer, and master. See 16 USC 973
• option: means an agreement, contract, or transaction that is of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, an "option" "privilege" "indemnity" "bid" "offer" "put" "call" "advance guaranty" or "decline guaranty". See 7 USC 1a
• organization: means a person other than an individual. See 18 USC 18
• organized exchange: means a trading facility that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Pacific Island Party: means a Pacific Island nation which is a party to the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• Pacific Northwest: means (1) the region consisting of the States of Oregon and Washington, the State of Montana west of the Continental Divide, and such portions of the States of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming within the Columbia drainage basin and of the State of Idaho as the Secretary may determine to be within the marketing area of the Federal Columbia River power system, and (2) any contiguous areas, not in excess of seventy-five airline miles from said region, which are a part of the service area of a rural electric cooperative served by the Administrator on December 5, 1980, which has a distribution system from which it serves both within and without said region. See 16 USC 837
• participating agency: means an agency described in section 5511(a)(3)(C) of this title. See 15 USC 5503
• 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
• Party: means a nation which is a party to the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• person: import s the plural or singular, and includes individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts. See 7 USC 1a
• person: import s the plural or the singular, as the case demands, and includes an individual, a partnership, a corporation, or two or more persons having a joint or common interest. See 7 USC 62
• person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity. See 7 USC 75
• person: means any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government. See 16 USC 973
• person: shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See 26 USC 7701
• person: shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See 26 USC 7701
• person: includes partnerships, associations, and corporations. See 19 USC 1401
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Petty offense: A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• petty offense: means a Class B misdemeanor, a Class C misdemeanor, or an infraction, for which the maximum fine is no greater than the amount set forth for such an offense in section 3571(b)(6) or (7) in the case of an individual or section 3571(c)(6) or (7) in the case of an organization. See 18 USC 19
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: means the Regional Electric Power and Conservation plan (including any amendments thereto) adopted pursuant to this chapter and such plan shall apply to actions of the Administrator as specified in this chapter. See 16 USC 839a
• 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}
• 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.
• Presentence report: A report prepared by a court's probation officer, after a person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing for the court the background information needed to determine the appropriate sentence. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• 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.
• Program: means the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program described in section 5511 of this title. See 15 USC 5503
• Program Component Areas: means the major subject areas under which related individual projects and activities carried out under the Program are grouped. See 15 USC 5503
• project: shall mean a project or any appropriate unit thereof. See 16 USC 460l-21
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• providing carrier: means a local exchange or interexchange common carrier providing telephone services (other than local exchange services) to a vendor for a telephone-billed purchase that is the subject of a billing error complaint. See 15 USC 5724
• Proxy voting: The practice of allowing a legislator to cast a vote in committee for an absent legislator.
• 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.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• regional: means &mdash. See 16 USC 839a
• 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.
• Renewable resource: means a resource which utilizes solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, or similar sources of energy and which either is used for electric power generation or will reduce the electric power requirements of a consumer, including by direct application. See 16 USC 839a
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• 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.
• Reserves: means the electric power needed to avert particular planning or operating shortages for the benefit of firm power customers of the Administrator and available to the Administrator (A) from resources or (B) from rights to interrupt, curtail, or otherwise withdraw, as provided by specific contract provisions, portions of the electric power supplied to customers. See 16 USC 839a
• residential load: means all usual residential, apartment, seasonal dwelling and farm electrical loads or uses, but only the first four hundred horsepower during any monthly billing period of farm irrigation and pumping for any farm. See 16 USC 839a
• Resource: means &mdash. See 16 USC 839a
• 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 the Treasury. See 7 USC 1a
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or delegates of the Secretary. See 7 USC 75
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Energy. See 16 USC 837
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Energy. See 16 USC 839a
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce, or the designee of the Secretary of Commerce. See 16 USC 973
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. See 26 USC 7701
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. See 26 USC 7701
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. See 19 USC 1401
• security: means a security as defined in section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
• security future: means a contract of sale for future delivery of a single security or of a narrow-based security index, including any interest therein or based on the value thereof, except an exempted security under section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U. See 7 USC 1a
• security futures product: means a security future or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security future. See 7 USC 1a
• security-based swap: has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
• security-based swap dealer: has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (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.
• significant price discovery contract: means an agreement, contract, or transaction subject to section 2(h)(5) of this title. See 7 USC 1a
• special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States: as used in this title , includes:

  (1) The high seas, any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State, and any vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States or any citizen thereof, or to any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or of any State, Territory, District, or possession thereof, when such vessel is within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State. See 18 USC 7

• State: means any one of the States (including Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
• State: means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 16 USC 973
• State: shall be construed to include the District of Columbia, where such construction is necessary to carry out provisions of this title. See 26 USC 7701
• State: shall be construed to include the District of Columbia, where such construction is necessary to carry out provisions of this title. See 26 USC 7701
• State: means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands: Provided, That for the purposes of section 10156(a) of this title, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be considered as one state ¹ and that for these purposes 67 per centum of the amounts allocated shall be allocated to American Samoa, and 33 per centum to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 34 USC 10251
• 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
• State insurance authority: means , in the case of any person engaged in providing insurance, the State insurance authority of the State in which the person is domiciled. See 15 USC 6809
• 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
• submitted sample: means a sample submitted by or for an interested person for official inspection, other than an official sample. See 7 USC 75
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• supervision of weighing: means such supervision by official inspection personnel of the grain-weighing process as is determined by the Secretary to be adequate to reasonably assure the integrity and accuracy of the weighing and of certificates which set forth the weight of the grain and such physical inspection by such personnel of the premises at which the grain weighing is performed as will reasonably assure that all the grain intended to be weighed has been weighed and discharged into the elevator or conveyance. See 7 USC 75
• Surplus energy: means electric energy generated at Federal hydroelectric plants in the Pacific Northwest which would otherwise be wasted because of the lack of a market therefor in the Pacific Northwest at any established rate. See 16 USC 837
• Surplus peaking capacity: means electric peaking capacity at Federal hydroelectric plants in the Pacific Northwest for which there is no demand in the Pacific Northwest at any established rate. See 16 USC 837
• 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
• system cost: means an estimate of all direct costs of a measure or resource over its effective life, including, if applicable, the cost of distribution and transmission to the consumer and, among other factors, waste disposal costs, end-of-cycle costs, and fuel costs (including projected increases), and such quantifiable environmental costs and benefits as the Administrator determines, on the basis of a methodology developed by the Council as part of the plan, or in the absence of the plan by the Administrator, are directly attributable to such measure or resource. See 16 USC 839a
• 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
• Tax Court: means the United States Tax Court. See 26 USC 7701
• tax return preparer: means any person who prepares for compensation, or who employs one or more persons to prepare for compensation, any return of tax imposed by this title or any claim for refund of tax imposed by this title. See 26 USC 7701
• 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
• telephone-billed purchase: means any purchase that is completed solely as a consequence of the completion of the call or a subsequent dialing, touch tone entry, or comparable action of the caller. See 15 USC 5724
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• TIN: means the identifying number assigned to a person under section 6109. See 26 USC 7701
• 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
• 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.
• Treaty: means the Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America, signed in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, April 2, 1987, and its Annexes, Schedules, and implementing agreements. See 16 USC 973
• Treaty Area: means the area so described in paragraph 1(k) of Article 1 of the Treaty. See 16 USC 973
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• 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: means the States (including Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
• United States: as used in this title in a territorial sense, includes all places and waters, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, except the Canal Zone. See 18 USC 5
• United States: when used in a geographical sense includes only the States and the District of Columbia. See 26 USC 7701
• United States: when used in a geographical sense includes only the States and the District of Columbia. See 26 USC 7701
• United States: includes all Territories and possessions of the United States except the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, and the island of Guam. See 19 USC 1401
• United States Section: means the United States Commissioners on the Commission. See 16 USC 931
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• 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 contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land, but does not include aircraft. See 19 USC 1401
• 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
• vendor: means any person who, through the use of the telephone, offers goods or services for a telephone-billed purchase. See 15 USC 5724
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• vessel: means any boat, ship, or other craft which is used for, equipped to be used for, or of a type normally used for commercial fishing, and which is documented under the laws of the United States. See 16 USC 973
• 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
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• Whips: Assistants to the floor leaders who are also elected by their party conferences. The Majority and Minority Whips (and their assistants) are responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. In the absence of a party floor leader, the whip often serves as acting floor leader.
• 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