Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 600 > Act 236 of 1961 > Chapter 12 - Veterans Treatment Courts

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Commission: means the employment relations commission created by section 3. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• 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.
• Company union: includes any employee association, committee, agency, or representation plan, formed or existing for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances or terms and conditions of employment, which in any manner or to any extent, and by any form of participation, interference, or assistance, financial or otherwise, either in its organization, operation, or administration, is dominated or controlled, sponsored or supervised, maintained, directed, or financed by the employer. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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:
• Domestic violence offense: means any crime alleged to have been committed by an individual against his or her spouse or former spouse, an individual with whom he or she has a child in common, an individual with whom he or she has had a dating relationship, or an individual who resides or has resided in the same household. See Michigan Laws 600.1200
• Employee: includes any employee, and is not limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless this act explicitly provides otherwise, and includes any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any act that is illegal under this act, and who has not obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment, but does not include any individual employed as an agricultural laborer, or in the domestic service of any family or any person at the person's home, or any individual employed by the person's parent or spouse, or any individual employed as an executive or supervisor, or any individual employed by an employer subject to the railway labor act, 45 USC 151 to 188, or by any other person who is not an employer. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• Employer: means a person and includes any person acting as an agent of an employer, but does not include the United States or any corporation wholly owned by the United States; any federal reserve bank; any employer subject to the railway labor act, 45 USC 151 to 188; this state or a political subdivision of this state; or any labor organization, or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of a labor organization, other than when acting as an employer. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• 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.
• 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.
• 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}
• in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
• judgment: as used in this act , includes decree. See Michigan Laws 600.112
• 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.
• labor dispute: include , but are not limited to, any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of employment, or concerning the association or representation of employees in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, or changing terms or conditions of employment, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• Labor organization: means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• Mental illness: means a substantial disorder of thought or mood that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychiatric symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury. See Michigan Laws 600.1200
• month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
• Participant: means an individual who is admitted into a veterans treatment court. See Michigan Laws 600.1200
• Person: includes an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, labor organization, or any other private entity. See Michigan Laws 423.2
• 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.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecutor: means the prosecuting attorney of the county, the city attorney, the village attorney, or the township attorney. See Michigan Laws 600.1200
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Traffic offense: means a violation of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257. See Michigan Laws 600.1200
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
• Veteran: means an individual who meets both of the following: