Terms Used In California Codes > Penal Code > Part 6 > Title 1 - PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

• abuse: means any of the following:

  California Penal Code 16120

• 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.
• air gauge knife: means a device that appears to be an air gauge but has concealed within it a pointed, metallic shaft that is designed to be a stabbing instrument which is exposed by mechanical action or gravity which locks into place when extended. See California Penal Code 16140
• ammunition: includes , but is not limited to, any bullet, cartridge, magazine, clip, speed loader, autoloader, ammunition feeding device, or projectile capable of being fired from a firearm with a deadly consequence. See California Penal Code 16150
• ammunition vendor: means any person, firm, corporation, or other business enterprise that holds a current ammunition vendor license issued pursuant to Section 30385. See California Penal Code 16151
• Ancillary administration: Probate administration of property (usually real property) owned in a State other than the one in which the decedent had his (her) principal residence at the time of death.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• antique cannon: means any cannon manufactured before January 1, 1899, which has been rendered incapable of firing or for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. See California Penal Code 16160
• antique rifle: means a firearm conforming to the definition of an "antique firearm" in Section 479. See California Penal Code 16180
• 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.
• ballistic knife: means a device that propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a coil spring, elastic material, or compressed gas. See California Penal Code 16220
• 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.
• BB device: means any instrument that expels a projectile, such as a BB or a pellet, through the force of air pressure, gas pressure, or spring action, or any spot marker gun. See California Penal Code 16250
• belt buckle knife: is a knife that is made an integral part of a belt buckle and consists of a blade with a length of at least two and one-half inches. See California Penal Code 16260
• 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}
• Beneficiary: means a person to whom a donative transfer of property is made or that person's successor in interest, and:

  California Probate Code 24

• blowgun: means a hollow tube designed and intended to be used as a tube through which a dart is propelled by the force of the breath of the user. See California Penal Code 16270
• board: means the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 20
• body shield: means any bullet-resistant material intended to provide ballistic and trauma protection for the wearer or holder. See California Penal Code 16290
• camouflaging firearm container: means a container that meets all of the following criteria:

  California Penal Code 16320

• cane gun: means any firearm mounted or enclosed in a stick, staff, rod, crutch, or similar device, designed to be, or capable of being used as, an aid in walking, if the firearm may be fired while mounted or enclosed therein. See California Penal Code 16330
• cane sword: means a cane, swagger stick, stick, staff, rod, pole, umbrella, or similar device, having concealed within it a blade that may be used as a sword or stiletto. See California Penal Code 16340
• Child: means any individual entitled to take as a child under this code by intestate succession from the parent whose relationship is involved. See California Probate Code 26
• City: includes incorporated city, city and county, municipal corporation, municipality, town, and incorporated town. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 14
• Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
• Community property: means :

  California Probate Code 28

• Controller: means the State Controller. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 21
• county: includes "city and county". See California Penal Code 7
• County: includes city and county. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 15
• dagger: means a knife or other instrument with or without a handguard that is capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon that may inflict great bodily injury or death. See California Penal Code 16470
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Domestic partner: means one of two persons who have filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State pursuant to Division 2. See California Probate Code 37
• domestic violence: means abuse perpetrated against any of the following persons:

  California Penal Code 16490

• 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.
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• 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.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• firearm: includes the frame or receiver of the weapon, including both a completed frame or receiver, or a firearm precursor part:

  California Penal Code 16520

• 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.
• flechette dart: means a dart, capable of being fired from a firearm, that measures approximately one inch in length, with tail fins that take up approximately five-sixteenths of an inch of the body. See California Penal Code 16570
• 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}
• 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.
• gun safe: means a locking container that fully contains and secures one or more firearms, and that meets the standards for gun safes adopted pursuant to Section 23650. See California Penal Code 16610
• gunsmith: means any person who is licensed as a dealer pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, who is engaged primarily in the business of repairing firearms, or making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms, or the agent or employee of that person. See California Penal Code 16630
• handgun: means any pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person. See California Penal Code 16640
• hunting license: means a hunting license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 3031) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 4 of . See California Penal Code 16685
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• large-capacity magazine: means any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, but shall not be construed to include any of the following:

  California Penal Code 16740

• leaded cane: means a staff, crutch, stick, rod, pole, or similar device, unnaturally weighted with lead. See California Penal Code 16760
• Less lethal weapon: means any device that is designed to or that has been converted to expel or propel less lethal ammunition by any action, mechanism, or process for the purpose of incapacitating, immobilizing, or stunning a human being through the infliction of any less than lethal impairment of physical condition, function, or senses, including physical pain or discomfort. See California Penal Code 16780
• license: shall include a permit or a certificate issued by a state agency. See California Penal Code 23
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• lipstick case knife: means a knife enclosed within and made an integral part of a lipstick case. See California Penal Code 16830
• machinegun: means any weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can readily be restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. See California Penal Code 16880
• metal knuckles: means any device or instrument made wholly or partially of metal that is worn for purposes of offense or defense in or on the hand and that either protects the wearer's hand while striking a blow or increases the force of impact from the blow or injury to the individual receiving the blow. See California Penal Code 16920
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Multiburst trigger activator: includes , but is not limited to, any of the following devices:

  California Penal Code 16930

• 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.
• Parent: means any individual entitled to take as a parent under this code by intestate succession from the child whose relationship is involved. See California Probate Code 54
• 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: shall include limited liability company, registered limited liability partnership, and foreign limited liability partnership, except where the context or the specific provisions of this division otherwise require. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 28.5
• peace officer: signify any one of the officers mentioned in Chapter 4. See California Penal Code 7
• person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
• Person: includes any person, firm, partnership, general partner of a partnership, limited liability company, registered limited liability partnership, foreign limited liability partnership, association, corporation, company, syndicate, estate, trust, business trust, or organization of any kind. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 19
• Person: means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other entity. See California Probate Code 56
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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}
• Predeceased spouse: means a person who died before the decedent while married to the decedent, except that the term does not include any of the following:

  California Probate Code 59

• Probate: Proving a will
• property: includes both real and personal property. See California Penal Code 7
• Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership and includes both real and personal property and any interest therein. See California Probate Code 62
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• safety: is a utomatically applied by the pistol, this feature shall not be defeated. See California Penal Code 31900
• 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.
• shobi-zue: means a staff, crutch, stick, rod, or pole concealing a knife or blade within it, which may be exposed by a flip of the wrist or by a mechanical action. See California Penal Code 17160
• short-barreled rifle: means any of the following:

  California Penal Code 17170

• short-barreled shotgun: means any of the following:

  California Penal Code 17180

• shuriken: means any instrument, without handles, consisting of a metal plate having three or more radiating points with one or more sharp edges and designed in the shape of a polygon, trefoil, cross, star, diamond, or other geometric shape, for use as a weapon for throwing. See California Penal Code 17200
• spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Penal Code 7
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 12.2
• Spouse: includes domestic partner, as defined in Section 37 of this code, as required by §. See California Probate Code 72
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Penal Code 7
• State: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See California Probate Code 74
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Surplus line broker: means a person licensed under Section 1765 and authorized to do business under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1760) of Part 2 of Division 1. See California Insurance Code 47
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Trust: includes the following:

  California Probate Code 82

• Trust company: means an entity that has qualified to engage in and conduct a trust business in this state. See California Probate Code 83
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• unconventional pistol: means a firearm with both of the following characteristics:

  California Penal Code 17270

• undetectable firearm: means any weapon that meets either of the following requirements:

  California Penal Code 17280

• wallet gun: means any firearm mounted or enclosed in a case, resembling a wallet, designed to be or capable of being carried in a pocket or purse, if the firearm may be fired while mounted or enclosed in the case. See California Penal Code 17330
• wholesaler: means any person who is licensed as a dealer pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, who sells, transfers, or assigns firearms, or parts of firearms, to persons who are licensed as manufacturers, importers, or gunsmiths pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code, or persons licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive, and includes persons who receive finished parts of firearms and assemble them into completed or partially completed firearms in furtherance of that purpose. See California Penal Code 17340
• will: includes codicil. See California Penal Code 7
• Will: includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will. See California Probate Code 88
• writing pen knife: means a device that appears to be a writing pen but has concealed within it a pointed, metallic shaft that is designed to be a stabbing instrument which is exposed by mechanical action or gravity which locks into place when extended or the pointed, metallic shaft is exposed by the removal of the cap or cover on the device. See California Penal Code 17350
• zip gun: means any weapon or device that meets all of the following criteria:

  California Penal Code 17360