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").
Pine Lake is the smallest city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was estimated at 621 by the 2000 census, but this estimate was challenged. There are 690 habitable buildings on the 2009 tax digest (See Demographics below). Pine Lake is one of the most eclectic cities in the state, including among its residents a number of locally, regionally and nationally known artists in the fields of music (Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, Elise Witt), fine art (Richard Cessil), sculpture, poetry (Alice Teeter) and prose and other disciplines. The City has been discribed as one of the most neighborly of cities—new residents are often told that when someone says, "Let me know what I can do to help," in Pine Lake, that's not an empty statement (Atlanta Magazine; Creative Loafing). The city was reported in Atlanta Magazine's (April 2003) "Best Places to Call Home. " Pine Lake's beautiful lake is center of many of the City's activities. The City often hosts indoor and outdoor concerts featuring some of the area's finest performers as well as readings and showings of area writers and artists. The Pine Lake Association of Involved Neighbors is an integral part of many of the activities happening in Pine Lake. PLAIN sponsors coffee and pastries, a monthly pancake breakfast, annual chili cook-off, desert contests, how-to seminars, ice cream socials, a yard of the month contest, work-days and much more, all with the idea of increasing neighborliness and improving the City.