Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 38 > Chapter 6 > Part I - General Provisions

• 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.
• 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.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assessed benefits: means the increased value accruing to lands and other property by reason of the improvements set out in the plan for reclamation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 38:1601
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Credit: includes every claim and demand for money, labor, merchandise and other valuable things. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• 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}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• immovable property: means and includes not only land, city, town and village lots, but all things thereunto pertaining, and all structures and other appurtenances thereto, as pass to the vendee by the conveyance of the land or lot. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• 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.
• 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}
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• moneys: means and includes gold, silver and other coin, bills of exchange, bank bills or other bills or notes, authorized to be circulated as money, whether in possession or subject to the draft of the depositor or the person having the beneficial interest therein on demand. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• 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.
• movable property: means and includes all things other than real estate which have any pecuniary value, all monies, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, franchises, shares in joint stock companies, or otherwise. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act: shall mean Title Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Waters: shall mean all waters above all submerged land seaward and outside of the area of state submerged lands beneath navigable waters as defined in the Submerged Lands Act, Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• Owner: means the owner of record, and it shall not include usufructuaries, lessees, mortgagees, or trustees, who shall be considered as represented by the record owner for all purposes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 38:1601
• 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.
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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 jury: means the governing authority of the various parishes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 38:1601
• Property: includes every form, character and kind of property, real, personal, and mixed, tangible and intangible, corporeal and incorporeal, and every share, right, title or interest therein or thereto, and every right, privilege, franchise, patent, copyright, trade-mark, certificate, or other evidence of ownership or interest; bonds, notes, judgments, credits, accounts, or other evidence of indebtedness, and every other thing of value, in possession, on hand, or under the control, at any time during the calendar year for which taxes are levied, within the State of Louisiana, of any person, firm, partnership, association of persons, or corporation, foreign or domestic whether the same be held, possessed, or controlled, as owner, agent, pledgee, mortgagee, or legal representative, or as president, cashier, treasurer, liquidator, assignee, master, superintendent, manager, sequestrator, receiver, trustee, stakeholder, depository, warehouseman, keeper, curator, executor, administrator, legatee, heir, beneficiary, parent, attorney, usufructuary, mandatary, fiduciary, or other capacity, whether the owner be known or unknown; except in the cases of fire, life, or other insurance companies, the notes, judgments, accounts, and credits of nonresident persons, firms, corporations, partnerships, associations, or companies doing business in the State of Louisiana, originating from the business done in this state, are hereby declared to be property with its situs within this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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}
• 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.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• 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.
• Simple resolution: Designated "S. Res.," simple resolutions are used to express nonbinding positions of the Senate or to deal with the Senate's internal affairs, such as the creation of a special committee. They do not require action by the House of Representatives.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• taxpayers: includes firms, companies, associations and corporations; all words importing the masculine gender apply to females also, and all words in the plural number apply to single individuals in all cases in which the spirit and intent of this Chapter require it. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
• 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.
• True bill: Another word for indictment.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.