Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 24 > Chapter 5 > Subchapter 2 - County Clerk

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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
• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• biennially: shall mean the year in which a regular session of the General Assembly is held. See
• Child: means any person:

• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Corrections. See
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Correctional officer: means any person who is an employee of the Department of Corrections whose official duties or job classification includes the supervision or monitoring of a person on parole, probation, or serving any sentence of incarceration whether inside or outside a correctional facility, and who has received training, as approved by the Commissioner of Corrections, as provided in section 551a of this title. See
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Corrections. See
• Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See
• 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.
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• facility: means any building, enclosure, space, or structure of or supported by the Department and used for the confinement of persons committed to the custody of the Commissioner, or for any other matter related to such confinement. See
• Federal prosecutor: A lawyer appointed by the President in each judicial district to prosecute and defend cases for the federal government.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• 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.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• 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.
• Holder: means a person obligated to hold for the account of, or to deliver or pay to, the owner, property subject to this chapter. See
• Inmate: means any person, not a child, committed to the custody of the Commissioner pursuant to the law of the State and subsequently committed to a correctional facility and any person confined at a correctional facility during the pendency of a prosecution against him or her. See
• Interview: means an appearance by the inmate at a meeting of the Parole Board. See
• 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.
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• Law: includes the laws and ordinances of the State, its political subdivisions, and municipalities. See
• Law enforcement officer: means a State Police officer, a sheriff, a deputy sheriff, a municipal police officer, a constable, the Commissioner, or a member of the Department of Corrections when appointed in writing by the Commissioner and when his or her appointment is filed in the Office of the Secretary of State. See
• Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: shall include affirmation where by law an affirmation may be substituted. See
• Parole: means the release of an inmate to the community by the Parole Board before the end of the inmate's sentence subject to conditions imposed by the Board and subject to the supervision and control of the Commissioner. See
• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• 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.
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• probation: means a procedure under which a respondent, found guilty of a crime upon verdict or plea, is released by the court, without confinement, subject to conditions imposed by the court and subject to the supervision of the Commissioner. See
• Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
• Property: means tangible property described in section 1465 of this title or a fixed and certain interest in intangible property held, issued, or owed in the course of a holder's business or by a government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Restorative justice program: means a program developed and implemented by the Commissioner, consistent with State policy and legislative intent as provided by section 2a of this title. See
• Review: means an evaluation of an inmate's records without an appearance by the inmate before the Parole Board. See
• seal: shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Supervised community sentence: means a form of imprisonment to be served outside the walls of a correctional facility, subject to the rules of the Commissioner and subject to revocation and incarceration pursuant to this chapter. See
• Supervising officer: means the highest administrative officer in charge of any correctional facility. See
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.