Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 8 > Article 5 > Part VIII - Conflict of Interest

• accuser: means a person who signs and swears to charges, any person who directs that charges nominally be signed and sworn to by another, and any other person who has an interest other than an official interest in the prosecution of the accused. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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

• Candidate: shall mean any person to be voted for at an election. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Caucus campaign committee: means a West Virginia House of Delegates or Senate political party caucus campaign committee that receives contributions and makes expenditures to support or oppose one or more specific candidates or slates of candidates for nomination, election, or committee membership. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Charter: shall mean , except where specific reference is made to a particular type of charter, either a special legislative charter (whether or not amended under the provisions of former §. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• City: is a word of art and shall mean, include, and be limited to any Class I, Class II, and Class III city, as classified in section three of this article (except in those instances where the context in which used clearly indicates that a particular class of city is intended), heretofore or hereafter incorporated as a municipal corporation under the laws of this state, however created and whether operating under: (i) A special legislative charter. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Clearly identified: means that the name, nickname, photograph, drawing, or other depiction of the candidate appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent through an unambiguous reference, such as "the Governor" "your Senator" or "the incumbent" or through an unambiguous reference to his or her status as a candidate, such as "the Democratic candidate for Governor" or "the Republican candidate for Supreme Court of Appeals". See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• commanding officer: includes only commissioned officers of the state military forces and shall include officers in charge only when administering nonjudicial punishment under Section fifteen of this article. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Committee substitute: Short for committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
• 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.
• Coordinated expenditure: is a n expenditure made in concert with, in cooperation with, or at the request or suggestion of a candidate or candidate's committee and meeting the criteria provided in §. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• 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.
• County court: includes any existing tribunal created in lieu of a county commission. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Election: shall mean the procedure whereby the voters of this state or any subdivision thereof elect persons to fill public offices, or elect members of a Constitutional convention, or vote on public questions. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• 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

• enlisted member: means a person in an enlisted grade. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Firewall: means a policy designed and implemented to prohibit the flow of information between employees or consultants providing services for the person paying for a communication and those employees or consultants currently or previously providing services to a candidate, or to a committee supporting or opposing a candidate clearly identified in the communication. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Foreign national: means the following:

  (A) A foreign principal, as such term is defined in 22 U. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a

• Governing body: shall mean the mayor and council together, the council, the board of directors, the commission, or other board or body of any municipality, by whatever name called, as the case may be, charged with the responsibility of enacting ordinances and determining the public policy of such municipality. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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.
• 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 court: means a court-martial or a court of inquiry. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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
• 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
• officer in charge: means a member of the Naval Militia, the Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard designated as such by appropriate authority. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Ordinance: shall mean the ordinances and laws enacted by the governing body of a municipality in the exercise of its legislative power, and in one or more articles of this chapter, ordinances enacted by a county commission. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• 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 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 party committee: means a committee established by a political party or political party caucus for the purposes of engaging in the influencing of the election, nomination, or defeat of a candidate in any election. See West Virginia Code 3-8-1a
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• record: when used in connection with the proceedings of a court-martial, means - an official written transcript, written summary, or other writing relating to the proceedings. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• 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
• 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.
• Voter: shall mean any person who possesses the statutory and Constitutional qualifications for voting. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2