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").
Teterboro (pronounced TEETER-boro) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, U.S. As of the United States 2000 census, the borough population was 18, making it the smallest municipality in New Jersey by population at the time of the census, ahead of Pine Valley (population 20) and Tavistock (with 24 residents). The 2000 census failed to count any of the residents of the Vincent Place housing units who had moved into the newly built homes in 1999. The uncounted residents, including the Mayor and all four Council members, would help make up a projected tripling of the population enumerated by the census. Previously, the Mayor and Council, as well as several other Vincent Place residents, had all been residents of Huyler Street, the only other street zoned as a residential area in the borough. In a March 2010 article, published in the Bergen Record, Teterboro's municipal manager noted that the actual population of the town is now 60. Teterboro was incorporated on March 26, 1917, from land taken from the boroughs of Moonachie and Little Ferry and from Lodi Township. The borough was enlarged on July 5, 1918, by the addition of area annexed from Hasbrouck Heights. The name Teterboro was changed on April 14, 1937, to Bendix Borough, and changed back to Teterboro Borough on June 1, 1943. The town was named for Walter C. Teter, a New York investment banker, who had purchased land to build a racetrack. In the past, neighboring municipalities, such as Hasbrouck Heights and South Hackensack, have attempted to absorb Teterboro, hoping to reap the financial benefits (and lower property taxes) of doing so. Others have reasoned that the population is too small for the borough to justify its own existence. However, all such attempts have met with failure, due to resistance from residents and municipal officials. Teterboro is best known as the home of Teterboro Airport (operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) which takes up most of the borough, along with portions of Hasbrouck Heights and Moonachie.