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").
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 116,760 at the 2000 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay. Vallejo is named for General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. Vallejo is home to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom theme park (formerly Marine World and Marine World Africa USA); the now-defunct Mare Island Naval Shipyard; the regional office for Region 5 of the United States Forest Service; the California Maritime Academy (part of the California State University system); the Vallejo Center campus of Solano Community College; and Touro University, an osteopathic medical college. Ferry service runs from a terminal on Mare Island Strait to San Francisco, through Vallejo Transit's BayLink division. Vallejo has twice served as the capital of the State of California: once in 1852 and again in 1853, both periods being quite brief. Some of the first Europeans drawn to the Vallejo area were attracted by the sulfur springs; in the year 1902 the area was named Blue Rock Springs. In 2008, Vallejo became the largest California city ever to file for bankruptcy.