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").
Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 between Tallahassee, Florida and Pensacola, Florida it is the largest city between Pensacola and Tallahassee. It is the larger (population-wise) of two principal cities of the Panama City-Lynn Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 36,417. It is located just east of the vacation destination of Panama City Beach. When Panama City was incorporated in 1909, its original city limits were 15th Street (Hwy 98) on the north, Balboa Avenue on the west and Bay Avenue on the east. Major employers in the Bay County area include Tyndall Air Force Base (located east of the city), the Coastal Systems Station-Naval Surface Warfare Center, Gulf Power, Arizona Chemical, Smurfit-Stone Container, Sallie Mae, and Berg Pipe. Gulf Coast Community College and a satellite campus of Florida State University offer educational opportunities. The city is served by Panama City-Bay County International Airport (PFN). It will be replaced by the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) in May 2010 along with non-stop air service by Southwest Airlines to and from Orlando, Nashville, Baltimore, and Houston. It will be the first international airport designed and constructed since the September 11 attacks. In 2006, Panama City was named the best place to invest in real estate in the US by CNN's Business 2.0 magazine.