Terms Used In Maryland Code > COMMERCIAL LAW > Title 4 > Subtitle 1 - General Provisions and Definitions

• Account: means any deposit or credit account with a bank, including a demand, time, savings, passbook, share draft, or like account, other than an account evidenced by a certificate of deposit;
  
  (2) "Afternoon" means the period of a day between noon and midnight;
  
  (3) "Banking day" means the part of a day, excluding Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, on which a bank is open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its banking functions;
  
  (4) "Clearing house" means an association of banks or other payors regularly clearing items;
  
  (5) "Customer" means a person having an account with a bank or for whom a bank has agreed to collect items, including a bank that maintains an account at another bank;
  
  (6) "Documentary draft" means a draft to be presented for acceptance or payment if specified documents, certificated securities (§ 8-102) or instructions for uncertificated securities (§ 8-102), or other certificates, statements, or the like are to be received by the drawee or other payor before acceptance or payment of the draft;
  
  (7) "Draft" means a draft as defined in § 3-104 or an item, other than an instrument, that is an order;
  
  (8) "Drawee" means a person ordered in a draft to make payment;
  
  (9) "Item" means an instrument or a promise or order to pay money handled by a bank for collection or payment. See
• Adult: means an individual at least 18 years old. See
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• County: means a county of the State or Baltimore City. See
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• gift: includes an inter vivos gift, inter vivos endowment, bequest, devise, legacy, or testamentary endowment of any interest in real or personal property. See
• including: means includes or including by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. See
• 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.
• legal holiday: means :
  
  (1) January 1, for New Year's Day;
  
  (2) (i) January 15, for Dr. See
• 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.
• Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
• 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.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• 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.
• state: means :
  
  (1) a state, possession, territory, or commonwealth of the United States; or
  
  (2) the District of Columbia. See
• 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.
• 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}
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.