Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 15 > Article 9B - Sexual Assault Examination Network

• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Biological evidence: includes a sexual assault forensic examination kit, semen, blood, saliva, hair, skin tissue, or other identified biological material. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1a
• commission: means the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Commission. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• DNA: means deoxyribonucleic acid. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1a
• 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.
• Hospital: means a facility licensed pursuant to the provisions of §. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1a
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• 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.
• kit: means a set of materials, including, but not limited to, swabs and tools for collecting blood samples, clothing, or other materials used to gather forensic evidence from a victim of a reported sexual offense and the evidence obtained with the materials. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1a
• Nonreported kit: means a kit collected from an alleged victim who has consented to the collection of the kit, but has not consented to participation in the criminal justice process. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-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
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Sexual offense: means any offense or attempted offense in the jurisdiction of the state in which a sexual assault forensic examination kit is collected, including, but not limited to, the following sections:

  (A) §. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1a

• 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
• Unfounded: means evidence developed after reasonable investigation and supported by proper documentation proving no crime occurred or where the alleged victim has recanted. See West Virginia Code 15-9B-1a
• Victim advocate: work with prosecutors and assist the victims of a crime.