Terms Used In Texas Penal Code Chapter 72 - Racketeering and Unlawful Debt Collection

• Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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.
• Affidavit: means a statement in writing of a fact or facts signed by the party making it, sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified to by the officer under his seal of office. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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.
• Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Estate: means a decedent's property, as that property:
  (1) exists originally and as the property changes in form by sale, reinvestment, or otherwise;
  (2) is augmented by any accretions and other additions to the property, including any property to be distributed to the decedent's representative by the trustee of a trust that terminates on the decedent's death, and substitutions for the property; and
  (3) is diminished by any decreases in or distributions from the property. See Texas Estates Code 22.012
• Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Government: means :
  (A) the state;
  (B) a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or
  (C) any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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.
• Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Surety: includes a personal surety and a corporate surety. See Texas Estates Code 22.032
• sworn: includes affirm or affirmed. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Unlawful: means criminal or tortious or both and includes what would be criminal or tortious but for a defense not amounting to justification or privilege. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Texas Estates Code 22.033