§ 8.01-669.Definitions.

Section 8.01-669 sets the vocabulary for three chapters at once: Chapter 26, on appeals to the Supreme Court; Chapter 26.1, on appeals to the Court of Appeals; and Chapter 26.2, on appeals generally. Rather than defining terms separately in each chapter, the Code fixes them here for all three.

"Judgment" is defined broadly to include a decree, order, finding, or award — not just a formally labeled judgment. "Petitioner" means a party who petitions the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court for an appeal, while "appellant" means an aggrieved party who already has an appeal of right or who has been granted an appeal by one of those courts. "Appellate court" means the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, or both, depending on what the context calls for.

The distinction between petitioner and appellant matters throughout the chapters that follow: a petitioner is still asking for permission to appeal, while an appellant already has the appeal in hand, whether by right or by grant. Each definition applies "unless the context otherwise requires," leaving room for a different reading where the surrounding text plainly calls for one.