Terms Used In New York Laws > Executive > Article 49-B - Commission On Forensic Science and Establishment of Dna Identification Index

• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Blind external proficiency testing: means a test sample that is presented to a forensic laboratory for forensic DNA testing through a second agency, and which appears to the analysts to involve routine evidence submitted for forensic DNA testing. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Commission: shall mean the commission on forensic science established pursuant to section nine hundred ninety-five-a of this article. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Designated offender: means a person convicted of any felony defined in any chapter of the laws of the state or any misdemeanor defined in the penal law except: (a) a person convicted of prostitution under § 230. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• DNA: means deoxyribonucleic acid. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• DNA record: means DNA identification information prepared by a forensic DNA laboratory and stored in the state DNA identification index for purposes of establishing identification in connection with law enforcement investigations or supporting statistical interpretation of the results of DNA analysis. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• DNA subcommittee: shall mean the subcommittee on forensic DNA laboratories and forensic DNA testing established pursuant to subdivision thirteen of section nine hundred ninety-five-b of this article. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• DNA testing methodology: means methods and procedures used to extract and analyze DNA material, as well as the methods, procedures, assumptions, and studies used to draw statistical inferences from the test results. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• forensic DNA laboratory: shall mean any forensic laboratory operated by the state or unit of local government, that performs forensic DNA testing on crime scenes or materials derived from the human body for use as evidence in a criminal proceeding or for purposes of identification and the term "forensic DNA testing" shall mean any test that employs techniques to examine deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) derived from the human body for the purpose of providing information to resolve issues of identification. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• forensic laboratory: shall mean any laboratory operated by the state or unit of local government that performs forensic testing on evidence in a criminal investigation or proceeding or for purposes of identification. See N.Y. Executive Law 995
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• 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.
• 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.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.