Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 5F > Article 1 - General Provisions

• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Administrator: means any person who fills a statutorily created position within or related to an agency or board (other than a board member) and who is designated by statute as commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner, director, chancellor, chief, executive director, executive secretary, superintendent, deputy superintendent, or other administrative title, however designated. See West Virginia Code 5F-1-4
• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Agency: means any department, division, fund, office, position, system, survey or other entity of state government, however designated, transferred to and incorporated in one of the departments created in section two of this article. See West Virginia Code 5F-1-4
• Aggrieved person: means a person who was a party to any intercepted wire, oral or electronic communication or a person against whom the interception was directed. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Aircraft: means any device now known or subsequently invented, used, or designed for flight in the air, including, but not limited to, unmanned aerial vehicles. See West Virginia Code 61-16-1
• 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.
• 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.
• Aural transfer: means a transfer containing the human voice at any point between and including the point of origin and the point of reception. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• 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.
• Board: means any board, commission, authority, council, or other body, however designated, consisting of two or more members, transferred to and incorporated in one of the departments created in section two of this article. See West Virginia Code 5F-1-4
• Child care center: means a facility maintained by the state or any county or municipality thereof, or any agency or facility maintained by an individual, firm, corporation, association or organization, public or private, that is licensed by Department of Health and Human Resources for the care of children in any setting. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Code: means the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as heretofore and hereafter amended. See West Virginia Code 5F-1-4
• Coercion: means :

  (A) The use or threat of force against, abduction of, serious harm to, or physical restraint of an individual. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1

• Commercial sexual activity: means sexual activity for which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by a person. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• Communications common carrier: means any telegraph company or telephone company and any radio common carrier. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Contents: when used with respect to any wire, oral or electronic communication, includes any information concerning the substance, purport or meaning of that communication. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• 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.
• Criminal activity: means a violation of:

  (A) The felony provisions of section eleven, article forty-one, chapter . See West Virginia Code 61-15-1

• Cryptocurrency: means digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, and which operate independently of a central bank. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• Debt bondage: means inducing an individual to provide:

  (A) Commercial sexual activity in payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1

• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Designated judge: means a circuit court judge designated by the Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to hear and rule on applications for the interception of wire, oral or electronic communications. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Electronic communication: means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electro-magnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system but does not include:

  (1) The radio portion of a cordless telephone communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone handset and the base unit. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2

• Electronic communication service: means any service which provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Financial institution: means a financial institution as defined in 31 U. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• Financial transaction: means a transaction which effects intrastate, interstate or foreign commerce, and:

  (A) Involves the movement of funds by wire or other means. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1

• Forced labor: means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained or maintained through the following:

  (A) Threat, either implicit or explicit, deception or fraud, scheme, plan, or pattern or other action intended to cause a person to believe that, if the person did not perform or provide the labor or services, that person or another person would suffer serious bodily harm, physical restraint, or deportation. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1

• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Good faith: means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing. See West Virginia Code 46-7-102
• Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract for storage or transportation. See West Virginia Code 46-7-102
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• 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.
• Identification document: means a passport, driver's license, immigration document, travel document or other government-issued identification document, including a document issued by a foreign government. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• 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.
• Intercept: means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical or other device. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Investigative or law-enforcement officer: means a member or members of the West Virginia State Police who is or are empowered by law to conduct investigations of or to make arrest for offenses enumerated in this chapter. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Issuer: means a bailee that issues a document of title or, in the case of an unaccepted delivery order, the person that orders the possessor of goods to deliver. See West Virginia Code 46-7-102
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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.
• Knowing: means actual knowledge. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• Labor or services: means activity having economic value. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age or a person representing himself or herself to be a minor. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• Monetary instruments: means coin or currency of the United States or of any other country, travelers&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• 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.
• oath: shall be deemed to include an affirmation and the word "swear" or "sworn" to be complied with if the person referred to make solemn affirmation. See West Virginia Code 2-2-7
• 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.
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• operator: means a person exercising control over an unmanned aerial vehicle during flight. See West Virginia Code 61-16-1
• Oral communication: means any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying the expectation. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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.
• Pen register: means a device which records or decodes electronic or other impulses which identify the numbers dialed or otherwise transmitted on the telephone line to which the device is attached, but the term does not include any device used by a provider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service for billing, or recording as an incident to billing, for communications services provided by the provider or any device used by a provider or customer of a wire communication service for cost accounting or other like purposes in the ordinary course of its business. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Person: means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, or other legal entity. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• Person: means any person, individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust or corporation and includes any police officer, employee or agent of this state or of a political subdivision thereof. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• 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.
• 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.
• Proceeds: means property or monetary instrument acquired or derived, directly or indirectly, from, produced through, realized through, or caused by an act or omission and includes property, real or personal, of any kind. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• Property: means anything of value, and includes any interest therein, including any benefit, . See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, all rights thereto and interests therein, except chattel interests. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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 West Virginia Code 46-7-102
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Secretary: means the administrative head of one of the departments created in section two of this article. See West Virginia Code 5F-1-4
• Serious harm: means harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, economic or reputational, to an individual which would compel a reasonable individual of the same background and in the same circumstances to perform or continue to perform labor or services or sexual activity to avoid incurring the harm. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• Sexual activity: means sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or sexual intrusion, as defined in §. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• Sexual servitude: means :

  (A) Maintaining or making available a minor for the purpose of engaging the minor in commercial sexual activity. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1

• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Targeted facility: means a critical infrastructure facility, as defined in §. See West Virginia Code 61-16-1
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• traffics: means knowingly recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, receiving, providing, obtaining, isolating, maintaining, or enticing an individual to engage in debt bondage, forced labor, or sexual servitude. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• transaction: includes a deposit, withdrawal, transfer between accounts, exchange of currency, loan, extension of credit, purchase or sale of any stock, bond, certificate of deposit, or other monetary instrument, use of a safety deposit box, or any other payment, transfer, or delivery by, through or to a financial institution, by whatever means effected. See West Virginia Code 61-15-1
• Trap and trace device: means a device which captures the incoming electronic or other impulses which identify the originating number of an instrument or device from which a wire or electronic communication was transmitted. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Unmanned aerial vehicles: means an aircraft that is operated without direct human intervention from inside or on the aircraft and includes the crewmember, the associated support equipment, the control station, data links, telemetry, communications, and navigation equipment necessary to operate the unmanned aircraft, including, but not limited to, drones. See West Virginia Code 61-16-1
• User: means any person or entity who or which uses an electronic communication service and is duly authorized by the provider of the service to engage in the use. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
• Victim: means an individual who is subjected to human trafficking, regardless of whether a perpetrator is prosecuted or convicted. See West Virginia Code 61-14-1
• Warehouse: means a person engaged in the business of storing goods for hire. See West Virginia Code 46-7-102
• Wire communication: means any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception (including the use of the connection in a switching station) furnished or operated by any person engaged in providing or operating the facilities for the transmission of interstate or foreign communications or communications affecting interstate or foreign commerce and the term includes any electronic storage of the communication, but the term does not include the radio portion of a cordless telephone communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone handset and the base unit. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2