Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 16 > Chapter 9 > Subchapter III - Child Protection Accountability Commission

• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Child: means any person who has not reached that person's own eighteenth birthday. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Death: means the loss of life of a child. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Department: means the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Director: means the Director of the Division of Family Services or the Director of the Division of Management Support Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• 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:
• Division: means the Division of Family Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• 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.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Investigation: means the collection of evidence in response to a report of abuse, neglect, or risk of maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for that child's care, custody or control in order to determine if a child has been abused, neglected, or is at risk of maltreatment. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• 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.
• Near death: means a child in serious or critical condition as a result of child abuse or neglect as certified by a physician. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Neglect: means as defined in § 901 of Title 10. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Report: means the communication of an allegation of child abuse or neglect to the Department pursuant to § 903 or § 905 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services or such persons as may be designated by the Secretary. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
• State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• 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.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• 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.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.