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").
Jacksonville is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, as a result of the consolidation of the city and county government, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, Jacksonville is the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States. Consequently the majority of Jacksonville's metropolitan population resides within the city limits, making it the most populous city proper in Florida and the twelfth most populous in the United States. Jacksonville is the principal city in the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, a region with a population of more than 1,313,228. Jacksonville is located in the First Coast region of northeast Florida and is centered on the banks of the St. Johns River, about 25 miles (40 km) south of the Georgia border and about 340 miles (547 km) north of Miami. The settlement that became Jacksonville was founded in 1791 as Cowford, so named because of its location at a narrow point in the river where cattle once crossed. In 1822, a year after the United States acquired the colony of Florida from Spain, the city was renamed for Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and who would become the seventh President of the United States (1829–1837)