Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 15.2 > Subtitle III > Chapter 37 - Annulment of Town Charters

• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appointee: means a person to which a powerholder makes an appointment of appointive property. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Appointive property: means the property or property interest subject to a power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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.
• Blanket-exercise clause: includes a clause that:

  1. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700

• Board of supervisors: means the governing body of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Council: means the governing body of a city or town. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Court: means any court vested with appropriate jurisdiction under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 19.2-5
• 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.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: means a person that creates a power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Fiduciary: includes a guardian, committee, trustee, executor, conservator, or personal representative. See Virginia Code 64.2-100
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• General power of appointment: means a power of appointment exercisable in favor of the powerholder, the powerholder's estate, a creditor of the powerholder, or a creditor of the powerholder's estate. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Gift-in-default clause: means a clause in the instrument creating the power identifying a taker in default of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Governing body: means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Impermissible appointee: means a person that is not a permissible appointee. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• 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.
• inhabitants: means with reference to any county, city, town, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any combination thereof, the natural persons in such county, city, town, political subdivision or combination as shown by the unadjusted United States decennial census last preceding the time at which any provision dependent upon population is being applied or the time as of which it is being construed. See Virginia Code 1-235
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Instrument: means a record. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Judge: means any judge, associate judge or substitute judge of any court or any magistrate. See Virginia Code 19.2-5
• 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.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nongeneral power of appointment: means a power of appointment that is not a general power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Virginia Code 1-228
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Permissible appointee: means a person in whose favor a powerholder may exercise a power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Person: means an individual; estate; trust; business or nonprofit entity; public corporation; government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or other legal entity. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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:
• Power of appointment: means a power that enables a powerholder acting in a nonfiduciary capacity to designate a recipient of an ownership interest in or another power of appointment over the appointive property. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Powerholder: means a person in which a donor creates a power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• 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).
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Specific-exercise clause: means a clause in an instrument which specifically refers to and exercises a particular power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Taker in default of appointment: means a person that takes all or part of the appointive property to the extent that the powerholder does not effectively exercise the power of appointment. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Terms of the instrument: means the manifestation of the intent of the maker of the instrument regarding the instrument's provisions as expressed in the instrument or as may be established by other evidence that would be admissible in a legal proceeding. See Virginia Code 64.2-2700
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• True bill: Another word for indictment.
• United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• 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.