Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 48 > Chapter 4 > Article 1 - Opening, Widening and Closing Public Ways

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• assessment roll: means a special assessment made under the provisions of this article. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Block: means any parcel of ground, whether regular or irregular, which is bounded by streets, or by one or more streets and by one or more boundary lines of the city or town. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• city: includes counties, incorporated cities and towns and other corporations organized for municipal purposes. See Arizona Laws 48-501
• Clerk: includes any person or official who performs the duties of clerk of the city or town. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• 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.
• 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.
• council: includes any body or board in which is vested by law the legislative power of a municipality. See Arizona Laws 48-501
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Delinquency: means delinquency in the payment of an assessment made under the provisions of this article. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Engineer: includes any person who, under whatever official name, is the civil engineer or surveyor of the city or town, and where there is no elected or appointed official, then the engineer is the person who may be appointed or employed by the council to perform the duties required of an engineer under the provisions of this article. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• governing body: includes and means the body or board which by law is constituted the legislative department of an incorporated city or town. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Grantee: includes every person to whom an estate or interest in real property passes, in or by a deed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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.
• Improvement: includes all the improvements mentioned in this article, and the term or terms "street opening or widening" and "opening or widening" include all improvements mentioned in this article. See Arizona Laws 48-501
• Improvement bond: means a bond issue under the provisions of this article. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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.
• 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}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lot: includes any portion, piece, parcel or subdivision of land, and includes property owned or controlled by any person as a railroad right-of-way. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Mayor: includes the chairman or president of the governing body. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Owner: means the person in whom, on the day the action or proceeding is commenced, appears the legal title to the lot by deed recorded in the recorder's office, or the person in possession of the lot under claim of title, or exercising acts of ownership over the lot for the person, or as the personal representative of the owner. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Railroad: includes street railroad and interurban railroad. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• Street: includes avenues, alleys, highways, lanes, crossings, intersections, courts, places and grounds now open or dedicated or hereafter opened or dedicated to public use, and public ways. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Street superintendent: includes any officer or board who, by law, has charge of streets or the improvement thereof in a city or town. See Arizona Laws 48-501
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• superintendent: includes any person who, under whatever official name, is charged with the care or supervision of the streets of the city or town. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
• Treasurer: includes any person who, under whatever official name, is the custodian of the funds of the city or town. See Arizona Laws 48-571
• 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.
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215