Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 8 > Chapter 2 > Article 8 - Juvenile Competency

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Adult court: means the appropriate justice court, municipal court or criminal division of the superior court that has jurisdiction to hear proceedings concerning offenses committed by juveniles as provided in sections 8-327 and 13-501. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Alcohol: means any substance containing any form of alcohol, including ethanol, methanol, propynol and isopropynol. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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
• Authorized emergency vehicle: means any of the following:

  (a) A fire department vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Autonomous vehicle: means a motor vehicle that is equipped with an automated driving system. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Bicycle: means a device, including a racing wheelchair, that is propelled by human power and on which a person may ride and that has either:

  (a) Two tandem wheels, either of which is more than sixteen inches in diameter. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Board: means the transportation board. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Bus: means a motor vehicle designed for carrying sixteen or more passengers, including the driver. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Business district: means the territory contiguous to and including a highway if there are buildings in use for business or industrial purposes within any six hundred feet along the highway, including hotels, banks or office buildings, railroad stations and public buildings that occupy at least three hundred feet of frontage on one side or three hundred feet collectively on both sides of the highway. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Clinical liaison: means a mental health expert or another individual who has experience and training in mental health or developmental disabilities and who is qualified and appointed by the court to aid in coordinating the treatment or training of juveniles who are found incompetent to stand trial. See Arizona Laws 8-291
• Combination of vehicles: means a truck or truck tractor and semitrailer and any trailer that it tows but does not include a forklift designed for the purpose of loading or unloading the truck, trailer or semitrailer. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Commercial motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles that is designed, used or maintained to transport passengers or property in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise, that is a commercial motor vehicle as defined in section 28-5201 and that is not exempt from gross weight fees as prescribed in section 28-5432, subsection B. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• commit: means to assign legal custody. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlled access highway: means a highway, street or roadway to or from which owners or occupants of abutting lands and other persons have no legal right of access except at such points only and in the manner determined by the public authority that has jurisdiction over the highway, street or roadway. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Conviction: means :

  (a) An unvacated adjudication of guilt or a determination that a person violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or by an authorized administrative tribunal. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Crosswalk: means :

  (a) That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the prolongations or connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway. See Arizona Laws 28-601

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Defense attorney: Represent defendants in criminal matters.
• Department: means the department of child safety. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Department: means the department of transportation acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Detention: means the temporary confinement of a juvenile who requires secure care in a physically restricting facility that is completely surrounded by a locked and physically secure barrier with restricted ingress and egress for the protection of the juvenile or the community pending court disposition or as a condition of probation. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Director: means the director of the department of transportation. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Drive: means to operate or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Driver license: means a license that is issued by a state to an individual and that authorizes the individual to drive a motor vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Electric bicycle: means a bicycle or tricycle that is equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than seven hundred fifty watts and that meets the requirements of one of the following classes:

  (a) "Class 1 electric bicycle" means a bicycle or tricycle that is equipped with an electric motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle or tricycle reaches the speed of twenty miles per hour. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Escort vehicle: means a vehicle that is required pursuant to rules adopted by the department to escort motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles that require issuance of a permit pursuant to article 18 or 19 of this chapter for operation on the highways of this state. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• 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.
• Farm: means any lands primarily used for agriculture production. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fully autonomous vehicle: means an autonomous vehicle that is equipped with an automated driving system designed to function as a level four or five system under SAE J3016 and that may be designed to function either:

  (a) Solely by use of the automated driving system. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Golf cart: means a motor vehicle that has not less than three wheels in contact with the ground, that has an unladen weight of less than one thousand eight hundred pounds, that is designed to be and is operated at not more than twenty-five miles per hour and that is designed to carry not more than four persons including the driver. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Gross weight: means the weight of a vehicle without a load plus the weight of any load on the vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• 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.
• highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way if a part of the way is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Human driver: means a natural person in the vehicle who performs in real time all or part of the dynamic driving task or who achieves a minimal risk condition for the vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Implement of husbandry: means a vehicle that is designed primarily for agricultural purposes and that is used exclusively in the conduct of agricultural operations, including an implement or vehicle whether self-propelled or otherwise that meets both of the following conditions:

  (a) Is used solely for agricultural purposes including the preparation or harvesting of cotton, alfalfa, grains and other farm crops. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Incompetent: means a juvenile who does not have sufficient present ability to consult with the juvenile's lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding or who does not have a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against the juvenile. See Arizona Laws 8-291
• Intersection: means the area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or if none, the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways that join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which vehicles traveling on different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• 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.
• 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: means a person who is under eighteen years of age at the time the issue of competency is raised. See Arizona Laws 8-291
• Juvenile court: means the juvenile division of the superior court when exercising its jurisdiction over children in any proceeding relating to delinquency, dependency or incorrigibility. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• License: means any license, temporary instruction permit or temporary license issued under the laws of this state or any other state that pertain to the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local authority: means any county, municipal or other local board or body exercising jurisdiction over highways under the constitution and laws of this state. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Mental health expert: means a physician who is licensed pursuant to Title 32, Chapter 13 or 17 or a psychologist who is licensed pursuant to Title 32, Chapter 19. See Arizona Laws 8-291
• Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Motor driven cycle: means a motorcycle, including every motor scooter, with a motor that produces not more than five horsepower but does not include an electric bicycle, an electric miniature scooter or an electric standup scooter. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Motorcycle: means a motor vehicle that has a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and that is designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground but excludes a tractor, an electric bicycle, an electric miniature scooter, an electric standup scooter and a moped. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Neighborhood electric vehicle: means a self-propelled electrically powered motor vehicle to which all of the following apply:

  (a) The vehicle is emission free. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle: means a neighborhood electric vehicle that is not designed, intended or marketed for human occupancy. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Nighttime: means the period between sunset and sunrise. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Nonresident: means a person who is not a resident of this state as defined in section 28-2001. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Official traffic control device: means any sign, signal, marking or device that is not inconsistent with this chapter and that is placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning or guiding traffic. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Operator: means a person who drives a motor vehicle on a highway, who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle on a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Owner: means :

  (a) A person who holds the legal title of a vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Peace officers: means sheriffs of counties, constables, marshals, policemen of cities and towns, commissioned personnel of the department of public safety, personnel who are employed by the state department of corrections and the department of juvenile corrections and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, peace officers who are appointed by a multicounty water conservation district and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by community college district governing boards and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by the Arizona board of regents and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by the governing body of a public airport pursuant to section 28-8426 and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, peace officers who are appointed by a private postsecondary institution pursuant to section 15-1897 and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board and special agents from the office of the attorney general, or of a county attorney, and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Pedestrian: means any person afoot. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Petition: means a written statement of the essential facts that allege delinquency, incorrigibility or dependency. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Photo enforcement system: means a device substantially consisting of a radar unit or sensor linked to a camera or other recording device that produces one or more photographs, microphotographs, videotapes or digital or other recorded images of a vehicle's license plate for the purpose of identifying violators of articles 3 and 6 of this chapter. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Police officer: means an officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or make arrests for violations of traffic rules or other offenses. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Population: means the population according to the most recent United States decennial census. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Private road or driveway: means a way or place that is in private ownership and that is used for vehicular travel by the owner and those persons who have express or implied permission from the owner but not by other persons. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• 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.
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Railroad: means a carrier of persons or property on cars operated on stationary rails. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Railroad sign or signal: means a sign, signal or device erected by authority of a public body or official or by a railroad and intended to give notice of the presence of railroad tracks or the approach of a railroad train. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Railroad train: means a steam engine or any electric or other motor that is with or without cars coupled to the steam engine or electric or other motor and that is operated on rails. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Residence district: means the territory contiguous to and including a highway not comprising a business district if the property on the highway for a distance of three hundred feet or more is in the main improved with residences or residences and buildings in use for business. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Right-of-way: when used within the context of the regulation of the movement of traffic on a highway means the privilege of the immediate use of the highway. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway that is improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Safety zone: means the area or space that is both:

  (a) Officially set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians. See Arizona Laws 28-601

• School bus: means a motor vehicle that is designed for carrying more than ten passengers and that is either:

  (a) Owned by any public or governmental agency or other institution and operated for the transportation of children to or from home or school on a regularly scheduled basis. See Arizona Laws 28-101

• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Sidewalk: means that portion of a street that is between the curb lines or the lateral lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines and that is intended for the use of pedestrians. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• State: means a state of the United States and the District of Columbia. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• State highway: means a state route or portion of a state route that is accepted and designated by the board as a state highway and that is maintained by the state. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Through highway: means a highway or portion of a highway at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to stop before entering or crossing and when stop signs are erected as provided in this chapter. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles and other conveyances either singly or together while using a highway for purposes of travel. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Traffic control signal: means a device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• Traffic survival school: means a school that is licensed pursuant to chapter 8, article 7. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Trailer: means a vehicle that is with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer or single-axle tow dolly, that is designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and that is constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Truck: means a motor vehicle that is designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See Arizona Laws 28-601
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215