In a criminal case, the state, through a prosecutor, initiates the suit, while in a civil case the victim brings the suit. Persons convicted of a crime may be incarcerated, fined, or both. Criminal defense attorneys represent clients who have been accused of committing a crime, and defend their rights at each stage of a misdemeanor or felony case -- from an arrest to an appeal after conviction. Criminal defense attorneys may be hired privately or provided by the government (called "public defenders").
Arab is a city in Marshall County, Alabama in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, located ten miles from Guntersville Lake and Guntersville Dam, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 7,174. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 7,498.