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").
Daphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located just off I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 150 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2000 census lists the population of the city as 16,581 making Daphne the most populous city in Baldwin County. The city estimates its present population at approximately 18,000 in 2008. It is a principal city of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Baldwin County. The inhabited history of what is now called Daphne dates at least to the Paleo-Indian period and Native American tribes around 9,000 BC. Modern day Daphne is a thriving suburb of nearby Mobile with all the expected amenities of 21st century life.