Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 17 > Chapter 5 - Coroners and Medical Examiners

• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• 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
• Autopsy: means the dissection of a dead body and the removal and examination of bone, tissue, organs, and foreign objects for the purpose of determining the cause of death and manner of death. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Cause of death: refers to the agent that has directly or indirectly resulted in a death. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• 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.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Coroner: means the person elected or serving as the county coroner pursuant to Section 24 of Article V of the South Carolina Constitution, 1895, this chapter, and Chapter 7 of Title 17. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deputy coroner: means a person appointed pursuant to § 17-5-70. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Deputy medical examiner: means a licensed physician employed by the medical examiner, with the approval of the commission, to perform post-mortem examinations, autopsies, and examinations of other forms of evidence as required by this chapter. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• 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.
• 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.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• 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.
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Inquest: means an official judicial inquiry before a coroner and coroner's jury for the purpose of determining the manner of death. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Investment: means a commitment or contribution of funds or property, whatever the source, a loan or other extension of credit, and the entry into or renewal of a contract for goods or services. See South Carolina Code 11-57-30
• Iran: includes the Government of Iran and any agency or instrumentality of Iran. See South Carolina Code 11-57-30
• Laboratory: means a laboratory containing facilities for the scientific detection and identification of physical evidence connected with crimes and causes of death and other examinations of tissue, chemical substances, and gases that contribute to the health and well-being of all people. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• 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.
• Manner of death: refers to the means or fatal agency that caused a death. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Medical examiner: means the licensed physician or pathologist designated by the county medical examiner's commission pursuant to Article 5 of this chapter for the purpose of performing post-mortem examinations, autopsies, and examinations of other forms of evidence required by this chapter. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Peace officer in charge: means members of the county, city, or town policemen, county, city, or town detectives, South Carolina Highway Patrol, or South Carolina Law Enforcement Division who may be in charge of the investigation of any case involving a death covered by this chapter. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Person: means any of the following:
  
  (a) a natural person, corporation, company, limited liability company, business association, partnership, society, trust, or any other nongovernmental entity, organization, or group;
  
  (b) any governmental entity or instrumentality of a government, including a multilateral development institution, as defined in Section 1701(c)(3) of the International Financial Institutions Act (22 U. See South Carolina Code 11-57-30
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Post-mortem examination: means examination after death and includes an examination of the dead body and surroundings by the medical examiner but does not include dissection of the body for any purpose. See South Carolina Code 17-5-5
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• reverse mortgage: means a nonrecourse loan secured by real property which:
  
  (1) provides cash advances to a borrower based on the equity or future appreciation in value in a borrower's owner-occupied principal residence;
  
  (2) requires no payment of principal or interest until the entire loan becomes due and payable; and
  
  (3) is made by a lender authorized to engage in business as a bank, savings institution, or credit union under the laws of the United States or of South Carolina, or a mortgage lender licensed pursuant to Chapter 22 of Title 37. See South Carolina Code 29-4-20
• 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 agency: means each state board, commission, department, executive department or officer, institution, and instrumentality. See South Carolina Code 11-57-30
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.