Terms Used In California Codes > Elections Code > Division 16 > Chapter 7 - Court's Duties

• 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.
• Agency: means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. See California Labor Code 18.5
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorized user: means either of the following:

  California Elections Code 354.5

• Bag limit: means the maximum limit, in number or amount, of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians that may lawfully be taken by any one person during a specified period of time. See California Fish and Game Code 18
• Ballot card: means a card or a number of cards upon which are printed, or identified by reference to the ballot, the names of candidates for nomination or election to one or more offices or the ballot titles of one or more measures. See California Elections Code 302
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: means the California Victim Compensation Board. See California Government Code 13951
• board: means any entity listed in Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession. See California Business and Professions Code 31
• candidate: includes any officeholder who is subject to a recall election. See California Elections Code 305
• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
• Commission: means the Fish and Game Commission, and "commissioner" means a member of the Fish and Game Commission. See California Fish and Game Code 30
• 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.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• County: includes city and county. See California Business and Professions Code 17
• County: includes city and county. See California Food and Agricultural Code 29
• County: includes city and county. See California Health and Safety Code 14
• County: includes "city and county. See California Labor Code 14
• County: includes city and county. See California Fish and Game Code 32
• County officer: means any elected officer enumerated in Division 2 (commencing with Section 24000) of Title 3 of . See California Elections Code 314
• Crime: includes an act of terrorism, as defined in Section 2331 of Title 18 of the United States Code, committed against a resident of the state, whether or not the act occurs within the state. See California Government Code 13951
• Dam: includes all artificial obstructions. See California Fish and Game Code 5900
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Day: means calendar day, and "week" means calendar week. See California Fish and Game Code 35
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• department: refer to the Director and Department of Finance, respectively, unless the context otherwise requires. See California Government Code 13001
• Department: means the Department of Human Resources. See California Government Code 19815
• Department: means Department of Industrial Relations. See California Labor Code 19
• Department: means the Department of Fish and Wildlife. See California Fish and Game Code 37
• 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.
• Derivative victim: means an individual who sustains pecuniary loss as a result of injury or death to a victim. See California Government Code 13951
• Director: means the Director of the Department of Human Resources. See California Government Code 19815
• Director: means "State Director of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 21
• Director: means Director of Industrial Relations. See California Labor Code 20
• Director: means the Director of Fish and Wildlife. See California Fish and Game Code 39
• Disability: means a medical condition, mental disability, or physical disability, as those terms are defined in subdivisions (i), (j), and (l) of §. See California Elections Code 354.5
• 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:
• District: means fish and game district. See California Fish and Game Code 41
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318
• Elections official: means any of the following:

  California Elections Code 320

• Elector: means a person who is a United States citizen 18 years of age or older and, except as specified in subdivision (b), is a resident of an election precinct in this state on or before the day of an election. See California Elections Code 321
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Federal election: means any presidential election, general election, primary election, or special election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting, nominating, or electing any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the United States Senate, or Member of the United States House of Representatives. See California Elections Code 323
• Fish: means a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals. See California Fish and Game Code 45
• Fishery: means both of the following:

  California Fish and Game Code 94

• 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}
• General election: means either of the following:

  California Elections Code 324

• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• item: includes , but is not limited to, any paper, document, book, map, artifact, or other type of record. See California Government Code 12220
• 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.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Kelp: means kelp or other marine aquatic plants and the seeds thereof. See California Fish and Game Code 51
• Labor Commissioner: means Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. See California Labor Code 21
• Law enforcement: means every district attorney, municipal police department, sheriff's department, district attorney's office, county probation department, and social services agency, the Department of Justice, the Department of Corrections, the Department of the Youth Authority, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the police department of any campus of the University of California, California State University, or community college, and every agency of the State of California expressly authorized by statute to investigate or prosecute law violators. See California Government Code 13951
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• 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}
• license: means license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or referred to in Section 1000 or 3600. See California Business and Professions Code 23.7
• Licensee: means any person authorized by a license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600. See California Business and Professions Code 23.8
• Measure: means any constitutional amendment or other proposition submitted to a popular vote at any election. See California Elections Code 329
• Municipal election: means elections in general law cities and where applicable in chartered cities. See California Elections Code 330
• Net: means any gear made of any kind of twine, thread, string, rope, wire, wood, or other materials used for the gilling, entangling, trapping, or impounding of fish. See California Fish and Game Code 56
• Nominate: means the selection, at a state-conducted primary election, of candidates who are entitled by law to participate in the general election for that office, but does not mean any other lawful mechanism that a political party may adopt for the purposes of choosing the candidate who is preferred by the party for a nonpartisan or voter-nominated office. See California Elections Code 332.5
• Open season: means that period of time during which the taking of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians is allowed as prescribed in this code and regulations adopted by the commission. See California Fish and Game Code 62
• Owner: includes the United States (except that for the purpose of Sections 5901, 5931, 5933, and 5938, "owner" does not include the United States as to any dam in the condition the dam existed on September 15, 1945), the State, a person, political subdivision, or district (other than a fish and game district) owning, controlling or operating a dam or pipe. See California Fish and Game Code 5900
• Party: means a political party or organization that has qualified for participation in any primary or presidential general election. See California Elections Code 338
• Pecuniary loss: means an economic loss or expense resulting from an injury or death to a victim of crime that has not been and will not be reimbursed from any other source. See California Government Code 13951
• Peer counseling: means counseling offered by a provider of mental health counseling services who has completed a specialized course in rape crisis counseling skills development, participates in continuing education in rape crisis counseling skills development, and provides rape crisis counseling within the State of California. See California Government Code 13951
• Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
• Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Labor Code 18
• Person: means any natural person or any partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, or other type of association. See California Fish and Game Code 67
• 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.
• Police protective equipment: means equipment or attire worn by law enforcement personnel for the purpose of protecting themselves or the public from overt actions of others or to assist in the carrying out of related duties, for example, handgun, baton, billy, handcuffs, flashlight, whistle, leather belt, holster and cases or attachments. See California Government Code 19850
• 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.
• Precinct: means a geographical area within a county that is made up of voters and is formed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12200) of Division 12. See California Elections Code 338.6
• Primary election: includes all primary nominating elections provided for by this code. See California Elections Code 341
• Pro per: A slang expression sometimes used to refer to a pro se litigant. It is a corruption of the Latin phrase "in propria persona." ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Probate: Proving a will
• Process: signifies a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Process: includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature. See California Government Code 22
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Punching: includes marking a ballot card to record a vote. See California Elections Code 345
• Purchase: means "buy" as defined in Section 24. See California Fish and Game Code 68
• 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.
• Remote accessible vote by mail system: means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software that is used for the sole purpose of marking an electronic vote by mail ballot for a voter who shall print the paper cast vote record to be submitted to the elections official. See California Elections Code 303.3
• 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).
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Roster: means the official list of voters for an election, which may be in paper or electronic form. See California Elections Code 349.5
• Safety equipment: means equipment or attire worn over, in place of, or in addition to, regular clothing, which is necessary to protect the employees' health and welfare, for example, helmets, goggles, safety harnesses, and fireman "turnout gear. See California Government Code 19850
• School officer: means the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the superintendent of schools of a county. See California Elections Code 352
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. See California Labor Code 19.5
• Sell: includes offer or possess for sale, barter, exchange, or trade. See California Fish and Game Code 75
• 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.
• Signature: includes either of the following:

  California Elections Code 354.5

• Signature stamp: means a stamp that contains the impression of any of the following:

  California Elections Code 354.5

• Software: includes all programs, voting devices, cards, ballot cards or papers, operating manuals or instructions, test procedures, printouts, and other nonmechanical or nonelectrical items necessary to the operation of a voting system. See California Elections Code 355
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Government Code 12.2
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Labor Code 12.2
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Fish and Game Code 83
• state agency: includes every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, and commission. See California Government Code 11000
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Food and Agricultural Code 49
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Fish and Game Code 73
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Take: means hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill. See California Fish and Game Code 86
• 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.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• trustees: means the Trustees of the California State University, created under Section 66600. See California Education Code 89000
• Uniform: means outer garments, excluding shoes, which are required to be worn exclusively while carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the position and which are different from the design or fashion of the general population. See California Government Code 19850
• 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 United States of America, and in relation to any particular matter includes the officers, agents, employees, agencies, or instrumentalities authorized to act in relation thereto. See California Fish and Game Code 5900
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Veterinary food-animal drugs: as used in this chapter shall include the following:

  California Business and Professions Code 4042

• Victim: means an individual who sustains injury or death as a direct result of a crime as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 13955. See California Government Code 13951
• Victim advocate: work with prosecutors and assist the victims of a crime.
• Victim center: means a victim and witness assistance center that receives funds pursuant to §. See California Government Code 13951
• Violation: includes a failure to comply with any requirement of the code. See California Labor Code 22
• Voter: means any elector who is registered under this code. See California Elections Code 359
• Voter list: means the list of registered voters in a single or consolidated precinct or in an entire county. See California Elections Code 359.2
• Voter-nominated office: means a congressional or state elective office for which a candidate may choose to have his or her party preference or lack of party preference indicated upon the ballot. See California Elections Code 359.5
• Voting machine: means any electronic device, including, but not limited to, a precinct optical scanner and a direct recording voting system, into which a voter may enter his or her votes, and which, by means of electronic tabulation and generation of printouts or other tangible, human-readable records, furnishes a total of the number of votes cast for each candidate and for or against each measure. See California Elections Code 361
• Voting system: means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used for casting a ballot, tabulating votes, or both. See California Elections Code 362
• Work clothes: means attire that is worn over, or in place of, regular clothing and is necessary to protect the employee's clothing from damage or stains which would be present in the normal performance of his or her duties, for example, aprons, lab smocks, shop coats, or coveralls. See California Government Code 19850
• Writing: includes printing and typewriting. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17