Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 15 > Article 1E > Part I - General Provisions

• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Candidate: means an individual who:

  (A) Has filed a certificate of announcement under §. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a

• code: means this article. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contribution: means a gift, subscription, loan, assessment, payment for services, dues, advance, donation, pledge, contract, agreement, forbearance, promise of money, or other tangible thing of value, whether conditional or legally enforceable, or a transfer of money or other tangible thing of value to a person, made for the purpose of influencing the nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• convening authority: includes , in addition to the person who convened the court, a commissioned officer commanding for the time being or a successor in command to the convening authority. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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.
• day: means calendar day and is not synonymous with the term "unit training assembly. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Disclosure date: means either of the following:

  (A) The first date during any calendar year on which any electioneering communication is disseminated after the person paying for the communication has spent a total of $5,000 or more for the direct costs of purchasing, producing, or disseminating electioneering communications. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a

• Election: means any primary, general, or special election conducted under the provisions of this code or under the charter of any municipality at which the voters nominate or elect candidates for public office. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Electioneering communication: means any paid communication made by broadcast, cable or satellite signal, mass mailing, telephone bank, billboard advertisement, or publication in any newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that:

  (i) Refers to a clearly identified candidate for Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Auditor, Commissioner of Agriculture, Supreme Court of Appeals, or the Legislature. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a

• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Financial agent: means any individual acting for and by himself or herself, or any two or more individuals acting together or cooperating in a financial way to aid or take part in the nomination or election of any candidate for public office, or to aid or promote the success or defeat of any political party at any election. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Independent expenditure: means an expenditure by a person:

  (A) Expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, including supporting or opposing the candidates of a political party. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a

• judge advocate: means a commissioned officer of the organized state military forces who is an attorney licensed to practice in this state or is a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of another state, who is admitted pro hac vice to practice in this state, and is any of the following: Certified or designated as a judge advocate in the Judge Advocate General'. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Local: refers to the election of candidates to a city, county, or municipal office and any issue to be voted on by only the residents of a particular political subdivision. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• military judge: means an official of a general or special court-martial detailed in accordance with section twenty-six of this article. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• military offenses: means those offenses prescribed under sections seventy-seven (Principals), seventy-eight (Accessory after the fact), eighty (Attempts), eighty-one (Conspiracy), eighty-two (Solicitation),eighty-three (Fraudulent enlistment, appointment, or separation), eighty-four (Unlawful enlistment, appointment, or separation), eighty-five (Desertion), eighty-six (Absence without leave), eighty-seven (Missing movement), eighty-eight (Contempt toward officials), eighty-nine (Disrespect towards superior commissioned officer), ninety (Assaulting or willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer), ninety-one (Insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer), ninety-two (Failure to obey order or regulation), ninety-three (Cruelty and maltreatment), ninety-four (Mutiny or sedition), ninety-five (Resistance, flight, breach of arrest, and escape), ninety-six (Releasing prisoner without proper authority), ninety-seven (Unlawful detention), ninety-eight (Noncompliance with procedural rules), ninety-nine (Misbehavior before the enemy), one hundred (Subordinate compelling surrender), one hundred one (Improper use of countersign), one hundred two (Forcing a safeguard), one hundred three (Captured or abandoned property), one hundred four (Aiding the enemy), one hundred five (Misconduct as prisoner), one hundred seven (False official statements), one hundred eight (Military property - Loss, damage, destruction, or wrongful disposition), one hundred nine (Property other than military property - waste, spoilage, or destruction), one hundred ten (Improper hazarding of vessel), one hundred twelve (Drunk on duty), one hundred twelve-a. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Name: means the full first name, middle name, or initial, if any, and full legal last name of an individual and the full name of any association, corporation, committee, or other organization of individuals, making the identity of any person who makes a contribution apparent by unambiguous reference. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Office: shall be construed to mean "public office" which shall include (1) any elective office provided for by the Constitution or laws of the United States or of this state to which a salary or other compensation attaches, and (2) membership in a Constitutional convention. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• officer: means a commissioned or warrant officer. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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: means an individual, corporation, partnership, committee, association, and any other organization or group of individuals. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Political action committee: means a committee organized by one or more persons, the primary purpose of which is to support or oppose the nomination or election of one or more candidates. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Political committee: means any candidate committee, political action committee, or political party committee. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Political party: means a political party as that term is defined by §. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Political purposes: means supporting or opposing the nomination, election, or defeat of one or more candidates or the passage or defeat of a ballot issue, supporting the retirement of the debt of a candidate or political committee or the administration or activities of an established political party or an organization which has declared itself a political party, and determining the advisability of becoming a candidate under the pre-candidacy financing provisions of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Senior force judge advocate: means the senior judge advocate of the commander of the same force of the state military forces as the accused and who is that commander'. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• State: means one of the several states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• State military forces: means the National Guard of the state, as defined in title 32, United States Code, to include the West Virginia Army National Guard, the West Virginia Air National Guard and the inactive National Guard, and shall be deemed to include any unit, component, element, headquarters, staff or cadre thereof, as well as any member or members, when not in a status subjecting them to exclusive jurisdiction under chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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.