Terms Used In Alaska Statutes > Title 18 > Chapter 60 - Safety

• action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• adult family member: means a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is
  (A) related to the child as the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• 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.
• 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}
• board: means the board of directors of a domestic or foreign corporation. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• care: means to provide for the physical, mental, and social needs of the child. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• child: means a person who is
  (A) under 18 years of age. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• child in need of aid: means a child found to be within the jurisdiction of the court under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• commissioner: means the commissioner of family and community services. See Alaska Statutes 47.31.100
• commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development or a designee of the commissioner. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• commissioner: means the commissioner of family and community services. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• commissioner: means the commissioner of family and community services. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• 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.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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 the superior court of the state. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• court: means the superior court of the state. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• court: means the superior court of the state. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• crime against a person: means an offense set out in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• criminal justice information: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• custodian: means a natural person 18 years of age or older to whom a parent or guardian has transferred temporary physical care, custody, and control of the child for a period of time. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• delinquent minor: means a minor found to be within the jurisdiction of the court under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• department: means the Department of Family and Community Services. See Alaska Statutes 47.31.100
• department: means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• department: means the Department of Family and Community Services. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• department: means the Department of Family and Community Services. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• department: means the Department of Family and Community Services. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• designated treatment facility: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.31.100
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• domestic corporation: means a corporation for profit subject to the provisions of this chapter, but does not include a foreign corporation or a national bank. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• domestic violence: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• 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 facility: means a health care facility that has been designated by the department to perform the evaluations described in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.31.100
• 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.
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• 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.
• family member: means a person of any age who is
  (A) related to the child as the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• family support services: means the services and activities provided to children and their families, including those provided by the community, a church, or other service organization, both to prevent removal of a child from the parental home and to facilitate the child's safe return to the family. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• foreign corporation: means a corporation for profit organized under laws other than the laws of Alaska for a purpose for which a corporation may be organized under this chapter. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• foster care: means care provided by a person or household under a foster home license required under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• gravely disabled: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• gravely disabled: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• gross monthly household income: means all earned or unearned income from any source of a member of the patient's household. See Alaska Statutes 47.31.100
• 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.
• guardian: means a natural person who is legally appointed guardian of the child by the court. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• hazardous volatile material or substance: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• household: means a patient and each person
  (A) residing with the patient. See Alaska Statutes 47.31.100
• Indian child: has the meaning given in 25 U. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• infant: means a child who is less than 21 days of age. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• intoxicant: means a substance that temporarily diminishes a person's control over mental or physical powers, including alcohol, controlled substances under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
• 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.
• juvenile detention facility: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• juvenile detention facility: means a secure facility for the detention of delinquent minors in the custody of the department under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• juvenile detention facility: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• juvenile probation officer: means an officer described in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• juvenile treatment facility: means a secure facility for treatment of minors adjudicated delinquent and committed by a court to the care and custody of the department under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• juvenile treatment facility: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• 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}
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• mental health professional: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• mental health professional: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• mental illness: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• mental illness: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• mental injury: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• minor: as used in this chapter includes a person described in this section. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.022
• minor: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• municipality: means a political subdivision incorporated under the laws of the state that is a home rule or general law city, a home rule or general law borough, or a unified municipality. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• near fatality: means physical injury or other harm, as certified by a physician, caused by an act or omission that created a substantial risk of death. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• organic change: means a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or sale of assets other than in the regular course of business. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• out-of-home care provider: means a foster parent or relative other than a parent with whom the child is placed. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• parent: means the biological or adoptive parent of the child. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• peace officer: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• peace officer: means
  (A) an officer of the state troopers. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• permanency hearing: means a hearing
  (A) designed to reach a decision in a case concerning the permanent placement of a child under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• physical injury: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• 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}
• 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.
• property: includes real and personal property. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• 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.
• reasonable efforts: means , with respect to family support services required under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• reasonable time: means a period of time that serves the best interests of the child, taking in account the affected child's age, emotional and developmental needs, and ability to form and maintain lasting attachments. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• 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.
• residential child care facility: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• secure residential psychiatric treatment center: has the meaning given "residential psychiatric treatment center" in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• secure residential psychiatric treatment center: has the meaning given "residential psychiatric treatment center" in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• 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.
• sexual abuse: means the conduct described in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• state: means any of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• support: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.10.990
• surviving corporation: means a corporation into which one or more other corporations are merged. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
• temporary secure juvenile holding area: means separate quarters that are used for the temporary detention of delinquent minors pending a court order or transportation to a juvenile detention facility and that are not within sight or sound of any adult prisoners. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• temporary secure juvenile holding area: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• treatment institution: means a hospital, clinic, institution, center, or other health care facility that has been designated by the department for the treatment of juveniles. See Alaska Statutes 47.14.990
• 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.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• victim: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
• Victim Impact Statement: A written or spoken statement by the victim or his or her representative about the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on the victim. The statement is given to the court before sentencing.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• writing: includes printing. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060