Checkout our iOS App for a better way to browser and research.
As used in this Code or in any Act of the Legislature, unless it is otherwise provided or the context requires a different construction, application, or meaning—
words importing the singular include and apply to several persons, parties, or things;
words importing the plural include the singular;
words importing the masculine gender include the feminine;
words used in the present tense include the future;
“bribe” signifies anything of value or advantage, present or prospective, or any promise or understanding to give any, asked, given, or accepted, with a corrupt intent to influence, unlawfully, the person to whom it is given, in his action, vote or opinion, in any public or official capacity;
“company” or “association”, when used in reference to a corporation, embraces the words “successors and assigns of such company or association”, in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed;
“corruptly” imports a wrongful design to acquire or cause some pecuniary or other advantage to the person guilty of the act or omission referred to, or to some other person;
“crime involving moral turpitude” means any violation of law that is contrary to honesty, justice or good morals, such as a violation of law involving dishonesty, fraud, willful failure to file income taxes returns, perjury, forgery, murder, sexual offenses, intentionally causing serious injury to another, child abuse, spousal abuse, and the sale of illegal drugs;
“depose” embraces every mode of written statement under oath or affirmation;
“grantee” includes every person to whom a freehold estate or interest is conveyed;
“grantor” includes every person by whom a freehold estate or interest is conveyed;
“inhabitant” means a resident in any place;
“insane”, “insane person”, and “lunatic” respectively include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis;
“kin” and “kindred”, as applied to the descent of estates, signify kin or kindred by blood, and the degrees of consanguinity shall be computed by the civil law method; but collateral kindred claiming through a nearer common ancestor shall be preferred to those claiming through a more remote common ancestor;
“knowingly” imports a personal knowledge; but it does not require any knowledge of the unlawfulness of an act or omission;
“malice” or “maliciously” imports the doing of a wrongful act, intentionally, without just cause or excuse; a conscious violation of the law to the prejudice of another;
“month” means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed;
“neglect”, “negligence”, “negligent” or “negligently” imports a want of such attention to the nature of probable consequences of the act or omission as a prudent man ordinarily bestows in acting in his own concerns;
“newspaper” means a publication issued regularly that provides information of public interest, whether printed, electronic internet-based or otherwise;
“nighttime” includes the time from sunset to sunrise;
“oath” includes affirmation or declaration;
“officer” includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office;
“person” and “whoever” respectively include corporations, companies, associations, joint stock companies, firms, partnerships, and societies, as well as individuals;
“personal property” includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidence of debt;
“pledge”, “mortgage”, “conditional sale”, “lien”, “assignment”, “collateral” and like terms when used in referring to a security interest in personal property shall include and apply to a corresponding security interest under Title 11A;
“population”, when used in relation to the Virgin Islands or any part thereof, means population as shown by the latest census or enumeration, taken by the Governor as required by Federal law, preceding the time as of which such population is to be determined;
“process” signifies a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings;
“property” includes both real and personal property;
“real property” includes real estate, lands, tenements and here-ditaments, corporeal or incorporeal;
“St. Croix” in a geographical sense and for governmental administrative purposes means the Island or District of St. Croix and adjacent islets and cays and the same territory comprising the legislative and election Districts of St. Croix and the judicial division of St. Croix.
“St. John” in a geographical sense and for governmental administrative purposes means the Island or District of St. John, Flanagan Islands, Grass, Mingo, Lovango, and Congo Cays, and adjacent islets and cays.
“St. Thomas” in a geographical sense and for governmental administrative purposes means the Island or District of St. Thomas, Hassel, Water, Savanna, Inner Brass, Outer Brass, Hans Lollick, Little Hans Lollick, Great St. James, Little St. James, Capella Islands, and Thatch Cay, and adjacent islets and cays.
“St. Thomas-St. John” embraces the legislative and election District of St. Thomas-St. John and the judicial divisions of St. Thomas and St. John; and in a geographical sense the combined territories of St. Thomas and St. John as defined in this section.
“seal”, when the seal of a court or public officer is required by law to be affixed to any paper, includes an impression of that seal upon the paper alone, or upon any substance attached to the paper capable of receiving a visible impression; and the seal of a private person may be made in like manner, or by the scroll of a pen, or by writing the word “seal” against his name;
“signature” or “subscription” includes a mark when the person making the same intended it as such;
“State”, when applied to different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the several Territories and Possessions of the United States, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
“sworn” includes “affirmed”;
“territory” or “territory of the Virgin Islands” means the unincorporated territory of the Virgin Islands;
“testify” embraces every mode of oral statement under oath or affirmation;
“United States” includes its Territories and Possessions, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
“vehicle” includes every description of carriage, or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land;
“vessel” includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water;
“Virgin Islands,” in a geographical sense, embraces the same territorial domain, islands, cays and waters that are designated as such in section 2(a) of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, approved July 22, 1954;
“will” means “last will and testament” and includes “codicil”;
“willful” or “willfully”, when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, implies simply a purpose or willingness to commit the act, or make the omission referred to;
“writ” signifies an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of the people or government of the Virgin Islands, or of a court or judicial officer;
“writing” includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by any process; and
“year” means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words “year of our Lord”.