Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 9-18.1 - Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act

• 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.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Foreign subpoena: means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction. See Rhode Island General Laws 9-18.1-2
• 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.
• 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: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited-liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 9-18.1-2
• 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 9-18.1-2
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena: means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to:

  (i)  Attend and give testimony at a deposition;

  (ii)  Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the person; or

  (iii)  Permit inspection of premises under the control of the person. See Rhode Island General Laws 9-18.1-2

• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8