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").
El Verano is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 3,954 at the 2000 census. El Verano's name is Spanish and means "The Summer. " Resorts in El Verano, and the other nearby communities of Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente were popular health retreats for tourists from San Francisco and points beyond until the middle of the 20th century because of the geothermic hot springs that still well up from deep within the earth. One El Verano resort from that era that still exists, albeit in altered form, is the Little Switzerland nightclub at the corner of Grove Street and Riverside Drive.