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").
Clarkston is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 7,231 at the 2000 census. The city is home to the central campus of Georgia Perimeter College. The city is noted for its diversity. In the 1990s refugee resettlement programs identified Clarkston as a good fit for displaced persons of many different backgrounds. The rental market was open, residents were moving farther out from the Atlanta urban core, and Clarkston was the last stop on a transit line into the city. By the 2000s the local high school had students from more than 50 countries; a local mosque had 800 worshippers; and by some estimates, half the population was from outside the U.S.