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").
Pelkie is an unincorporated community in Baraga County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is on the Sturgeon River in the northeast part of Baraga Township at 46°48′48″N 88°38′11″W / 46.81333°N 88.63639°W / 46.81333; -88.63639. Pelkie was settled by French Canadian woodsmen in about 1885, and was first known as "King's Landing" and was renamed Pelkie after an early settler. Finns who settled there initially called the place Kyrö, after the place they came from in Finland. The name became Kuro after a railroad was built through the area. The precise name of the early settler is unknown. Because many Finns settled in the area, the Finnish name Pelkinen has been suggested as the original. However, the name may also have been derived from a former French-Canadian settler. It was a station on the Michigan Central Railroad, and a post office was established on April 30, 1903. The Pelkie ZIP code 49958 serves areas in the north and northwest of Baraga Township in Baraga County, as well as an area of northeast Laird Township, southwest Elm River Township, and southern Portage Township in Houghton County.