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").
Bryantown is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Maryland Route 5. Bryantown stands on land known as Boarman's Manor, a 4,000 acre manor granted to Major William Boarman in 1674. . Bryantown is associated with the flight in 1865 of President Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, and its St. Mary's Church is the burial place of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who lived 5 miles to the north, and who in November 1864 had first met Booth at the church (see article on Mudd).