Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 10 > Chapter 7 - Public Records

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• 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.
• Agency: means any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created by law or pursuant to law, including the legislative branch and the judicial branch. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Agriculture: means :
  (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• 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.
• 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}
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, profession, investment activity and other lawful purpose for gain or the preservation of assets whether or not carried on for profits. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Charter: includes amended and restated charters and articles of merger. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• 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.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Court: includes every court and judge having jurisdiction in the case. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• delivery: means any method of delivery used in conventional commercial practice, including delivery by hand, mail, commercial delivery, and, if authorized in accordance with §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Directors: means natural persons, designated in the charter or bylaws or elected or appointed by the incorporators, and their successors and natural persons elected or appointed to act as members of the board, irrespective of the names or titles by which such persons are described. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Disposition: means preservation of the original records in whole or in part, preservation by photographic or other reproduction processes, or outright destruction of the records. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• division: means the division of records management of the department of state. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Entity: includes the following, whether foreign or domestic: LLCs. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Essential records: means any public records essential to the resumption or continuation of operations, to the re-creation of the legal and financial status of government in the state or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to citizens of the state. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Individual: includes the estate of an incompetent or deceased individual. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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}
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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.
• organization: means an association or nonprofit corporation authorized by the laws of this state that:
  (A) Was established for the benefit of local government officials or counties, cities, towns, or other local governments or as a municipal bond financing pool. See Tennessee Code 10-7-503
• Original bill: A bill which is drafted by a committee. It is introduced by the committee or subcommittee chairman after the committee votes to report it.
• 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.
• Person: includes individual and entity. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• person: includes a natural person, corporation, firm, company, association or any other business entity. See Tennessee Code 10-7-503
• Personal representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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.
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• 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}
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Public records request coordinator: means any individual within a governmental entity whose role it is to ensure that public records requests are routed to the appropriate records custodian and that requests are fulfilled in accordance with §. See Tennessee Code 10-7-503
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Record date: means the date established under chapter 16 or 17 on which a corporation determines the identity of its shareholders for purposes of chapters 11-27 of this title. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Records: as used in this part , shall be construed to mean any records of the county legislative body and common law, circuit, criminal, or chancery court, the register's books, the surveyor's and entry taker's book, and all other public records, required by law to be kept in the several courts of this state. See Tennessee Code 10-7-101
• Records custodian: means any office, official, or employee of any governmental entity lawfully responsible for the direct custody and care of a public record. See Tennessee Code 10-7-503
• Records disposition authorization: means the official document utilized by an agency head to request authority for the disposition of records. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Records management: includes records retention schedule development, essential records protection, files management and information retrieval systems, microfilm information systems, correspondence and word processing management, records center, forms management, analysis, and design, and reports and publications management. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Records officer: means an individual designated by an agency head to assume responsibility for implementation of the agency's records management program. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Registered office: means the place in this state designated in the articles as the registered office of the LLC. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• 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.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Secretary: means the corporate officer to whom the bylaws or the board of directors has delegated responsibility under §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Share: means the unit into which the proprietary interests in a corporation are divided. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Shareholder: means the person in whose name shares are registered in the records of a corporation or the beneficial owner of shares to the extent of the rights granted by a nominee certificate on file with a corporation. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• signature: means , with present intent to authenticate or adopt a document:
  (A) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol to a document, and includes any manual, facsimile, or conformed signature. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subscription: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Temporary records: means material which can be disposed of in a short period of time as being without value in documenting the functions of an agency. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• Trial jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Voting group: means all shares of one (1) or more classes or series that under the charter or chapters 11-27 of this title are entitled to vote and be counted together collectively on a matter at a meeting of shareholders. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Working papers: means those records created to serve as input for final reporting documents, including electronic data processed records, and/or computer output microfilm, and those records which become obsolete immediately after agency use or publication. See Tennessee Code 10-7-301
• written: means any information in the form of a document. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105