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").
Boulder is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado. Boulder is the 11th most populous city in the state of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2008 the population of the city of Boulder was 94,268, while the population of the Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area was 293,161. Boulder is the home of the main campus of the University of Colorado, the state's largest university, and Naropa University, one of two accredited Buddhist-inspired universities in the United States. Located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 5,430 feet (1,655 m), Boulder is 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Denver.