Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 4-1 - Cruelty to Animals

• 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.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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.
• 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
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Articles of merger: means a statement under Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Authority: means the governmental agency and public instrumentality previously authorized, created, and established pursuant to § 16-57-4. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Authority: means the governmental agency and public instrumentality authorized, created, and established pursuant to § 16-62-4. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• 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}
• Board of regents: means the Rhode Island board of regents for elementary and secondary education. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, and profession. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Charter public schools: means district charter schools, independent charter schools, or mayoral academies. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Commissioner: means the Rhode Island commissioner of elementary and secondary education. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Commissioner of postsecondary education: means the commissioner appointed by the council on postsecondary education pursuant to § 16-59-6 or his or her designee. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• 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.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conversion: means a transaction authorized by Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• 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.
• Council: means the council on postsecondary education established pursuant to § 16-59-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Course: means any unit, plan, or program of instruction whether conducted in person, by mail, or by any other method by correspondence schools or home study courses. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-50-2
• 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.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Distribution: means a transfer of money or other property from a partnership to a person on account of a transferable interest or in a person's capacity as a partner. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• District charter schools: means schools created by existing public schools, groups of public school personnel, public school districts, or a group of school districts. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Division: means the Rhode Island division of higher education assistance, the division authorized, created, and established pursuant to § 16-57-4. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Domestication: means a transaction authorized by Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Education loan: means a loan to a student or the parent, legal guardian, or sponsor of the student, or to an eligible institution, for the purpose of financing a student's attendance at the eligible institution. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• Electronic transmission: means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Eligible institution: means , subject to further particular or more restrictive definition by regulation of the authority: (i) an institution of higher learning, (ii) a vocational school, or (iii) with respect to students who are nationals of the United States, an institution outside the United States which is comparable to an institution of higher education or to a vocational school and which has been approved by the authority and by the secretary for purposes of the guaranteed student loan program. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• Eligible loan: means a loan to a student or to the parent of a student insured or guaranteed by the commissioner of postsecondary education, or by any other governmental or private agency, corporation, or organization having a reinsurance or guaranty agreement with the commissioner applicable to the student loan. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Eligible loan: means a loan to a student or to the parent of a student insured or guaranteed by the secretary, Rhode Island division of higher education assistance, or by any other governmental or private agency, corporation, or organization having a reinsurance or guaranty agreement with the secretary applicable to that loan. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• 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.
• executed: means an original signature, facsimile, or an electronically transmitted signature submitted through a medium provided and authorized by the secretary of state. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• 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.
• Foreign limited liability partnership: means a foreign partnership whose partners have limited liability for the debts, obligations, or other liabilities of the foreign partnership under a provision similar to Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Foreign partnership: means an unincorporated entity formed under the law of a jurisdiction other than this state which would be a partnership if formed under the law of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• 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.
• Guaranteed student loan program: means the program of federal student loan insurance and reinsurance administered by the commissioner of postsecondary education. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Guaranteed student loan program: means the program of federal student loan insurance and reinsurance administered by the secretary. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• incident of violence: shall include any event or occurrence where any person abuses or causes physical injury to another person, or threatens to abuse or to cause physical injury to another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-76.2-1
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Independent charter schools: means schools created by: (I) Rhode Island nonprofit organizations provided that these nonprofit organizations shall have existed for at least two (2) years and must exist for a substantial reason other than to operate a school; or (ii) Colleges or universities within the State of Rhode Island. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Interest: means :

  (i)  A share in a business corporation;

  (ii)  A membership in a nonprofit corporation;

  (iii)  A partnership interest in a general partnership;

  (iv)  A partnership interest in a limited partnership;

  (v)  A membership interest in a limited liability company;

  (vi)  A share in a general cooperative association;

  (vii)  A member's interest in a limited cooperative association;

  (viii)  A membership in an unincorporated nonprofit association;

  (ix)  A beneficial interest in a statutory trust, business trust, or common-law business trust; or

  (x)  A governance interest or distributional interest in any other type of unincorporated entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101

• Interest exchange: means a transaction authorized by Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• 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.
• 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.
• magistrate: may be construed to mean a justice, or a clerk acting as a justice, of a district court. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• mayor: shall include any elected town administrator. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Mayoral academies: means schools created by a mayor of any city or town within the State of Rhode Island, acting by or through a nonprofit organization (regardless of the time said nonprofit organization is in existence) to establish a mayoral academy as hereinafter described in chapter 16-77. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-77-2.1
• Merger: means a transaction authorized by Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• 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.
• notes: means the bonds, notes, securities, or other obligations or evidences of indebtedness issued by the authority pursuant to this chapter, all of which shall be issued under the name of or known as obligations of the Rhode Island student loan authority. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmation; the word "sworn" includes affirmed; and the word "engaged" includes either sworn or affirmed. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-11
• 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.
• Participant: means an individual, corporation, trust, or other "person" within the meaning of § 529 of the Internal Revenue Code [Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Partner: means a person that:

  (i)  Has become a partner in a partnership under Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102

• 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.
• Partnership agreement: means the agreement, whether or not referred to as a partnership agreement and whether oral, implied, in a record, or in any combination thereof, of all the partners of a partnership concerning the matters described in Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Person: means an individual, business corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, general cooperative association, limited cooperative association, unincorporated nonprofit association, statutory trust, business trust, common-law business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: means a plan of merger, plan of interest exchange, plan of conversion, or plan of domestication. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• Plan of conversion: means a plan under Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• Plan of domestication: means a plan under Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101
• 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.
• Pre-paid tuition program: means a program administered by the division, in conjunction with the executive director of the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority and the commissioner of postsecondary education, that provides a means for qualified students, parents, and others responsible for paying the costs of education to fix all or a portion of the direct cost of attendance at participating institutions in one or more future years. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• 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.
• Principal office: means the principal executive office of a partnership or a foreign limited liability partnership, whether or not the office is located in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Program: means the tuition savings program established pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Property: means all property, whether real, personal, or mixed or tangible or intangible, or any right or interest therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Qualified higher education expenses: means the costs of tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for enrollment or attendance at an institution of higher education, and other education costs defined by federal law. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Registered agent: means an agent of a limited liability partnership or foreign limited liability partnership which is authorized to receive service of any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served on the partnership. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• 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.
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• right of contribution: means property or a benefit described in Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• savings program: means a program approved and administered by the general treasurer, in conjunction with the executive director of the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, and the commissioner of postsecondary education, designed to facilitate and encourage savings by, or on behalf of, students, future students, and parents for the purpose of paying the costs of attending institutions of higher education. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• seal: shall be construed to include an impression of the seal made with or without the use of wax or wafer on the paper. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-15
• Secretary: means the United States secretary of education. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• Secretary: means the United States secretary of education or the secretary of health and human services. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• sexual harassment: means any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to this conduct or advances or requests is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's academic success. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-76-1
• Sign: means , with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:

  (i)  To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

  (ii)  To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102

• State: means the state of Rhode Island. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-57-3
• State: means the state of Rhode Island. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Student: means an individual who under rules promulgated by the authority meets the enrollment and satisfactory progress requirement necessary for making an eligible student loan or an education loan, as applicable. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-62-3
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• Transfer: includes :

  (i)  An assignment;

  (ii)  A conveyance;

  (iii)  A sale;

  (iv)  A lease;

  (v)  An encumbrance, including a mortgage or security interest;

  (vi)  A gift; and

  (vii)  A transfer by operation of law. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102

• Transferable interest: means the right, as initially owned by a person in the person's capacity as a partner, to receive distributions from a partnership, whether or not the person remains a partner or continues to own any part of the right. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Transferee: means a person to which all or part of a transferable interest has been transferred, whether or not the transferor is a partner. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• 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}
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.