Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 68 > Health > Chapter 3 - Vital Records Act of 1977

• 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.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Attorney general: means the attorney general and reporter and any assistant thereto by whatever name known, any district attorney general and any assistant thereto by whatever name called, and any officer or full-time employee of the general assembly or any committee thereof established by statute, who is duly licensed to practice law in Tennessee, whose duty it is to provide facilities for drafting bills or to assist individual legislators in drafting bills or who renders legal advice and services to the members of the general assembly or committees thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• board: means the board provided for in part 3 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth: means a certificate issued to record the birth of a stillborn child. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means any person in office as a member of the public service commission, as prescribed by title 65, chapter 1, prior to June 30, 1996. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of health. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• 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.
• Community grant: means federal funds made available to the state of Tennessee for administration and distribution pursuant to any of the following programs:
  (A) The maternal and child health block grant program. See Tennessee Code 8-4-402
• Community grant agency: means any private corporation that contracts with a state agency to receive one (1) or more community grants in consideration for rendering specified services to the public. See Tennessee Code 8-4-402
• 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.
• 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.
• Dead body: means a human body from the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of health. See Tennessee Code 68-3-602
• Department: means the department of health. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• 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.
• disabled: means the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• 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}
• 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.
• Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• File: means to present a vital record provided for in this chapter for registration by the office of vital records. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Final disposition: means the burial, interment, cremation, removal from the state or other authorized disposition of a dead body or fetus. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• 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.
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Hotline: means a method or system created or established to accept any telephonic or electronic form of communication that is communicated to the office of the comptroller of the treasury, for the purposes of providing governmental employees and citizens of Tennessee a means to report or provide information relating to alleged fraud, abuse, or wrongdoing. See Tennessee Code 8-4-402
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• Induced termination of pregnancy: means the intentional termination of pregnancy with the intention other than to produce a live-born infant or to remove a dead fetus. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Institution: means any establishment, public or private, that provides inpatient or outpatient medical, surgical or diagnostic care or treatment or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care, or to which persons are committed by law. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• 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.
• Live birth: means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy, that, after expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Local agency: means any county, municipality, branch or agency of a county or municipality, public utility, utility district, entity created pursuant to any interlocal agreement, or any other political subdivision thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-4-402
• maternal mortality: means a:
  (A) Pregnancy-associated death. See Tennessee Code 68-3-602
• Member: means any person included in the membership of the retirement system, as provided in chapter 35, part 1 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• 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: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Personal representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to the laws of this state. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Pregnancy-associated death: means the death of a woman while pregnant or within one (1) year of the end of her pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death and regardless of the duration or site of the pregnancy. See Tennessee Code 68-3-602
• Pregnancy-related death: means the death of a woman while pregnant or within one (1) year of the end of her pregnancy, regardless of the duration or site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes. See Tennessee Code 68-3-602
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Public entity: means any branch or agency of a county, municipality, public utility, utility district, entity created pursuant to any interlocal agreement, or any other political subdivision thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-4-502
• Public health council: means the [former] council established in §. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Public official: means a person elected or appointed to any office of a public entity. See Tennessee Code 8-4-502
• Reasonable amount of time: means any amount of time that is reasonable under the particular circumstances, but shall not under any circumstances exceed five (5) working days. See Tennessee Code 8-4-502
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Registration: means the acceptance by the office of vital records and the incorporation of vital records provided for in this chapter into its official records. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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.
• Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• 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.
• sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• State: means the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• State agency: means each state board, commission, committee, department, office, or any other unit of state government. See Tennessee Code 8-4-402
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Stillbirth: means an unintended, intrauterine fetal death after a gestational age of not less than twenty (20) completed weeks or with a weight of three hundred fifty (350) grams or more. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• 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.
• System of vital records: includes the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital records, and the collection of other reports required by this chapter. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• 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.
• 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: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Unlawful conduct: means theft, forgery, credit or debit card fraud, or any other act of unlawful taking, waste, or abuse of, or official misconduct, as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 8-4-502
• Vital records: means certificates or reports of birth, death, marriage, divorce or annulment and other records related thereto. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105