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").
Little Switzerland is an unincorporated community in McDowell and Mitchell counties of North Carolina, United States. It is located along NC 226A off the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of Spruce Pine. At this location, in 1909, on eleven hundred acres surveyed from the top of Grassy Mountain, the "Switzerland Company" was founded by North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Heriot Clarkson, and became one of the few private resorts on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its naming illustrates the gradual change in meaning of the 19th century term little Switzerland from an area of limestone formations to one of mountainous appearance. Famous oboist John Mack used to hold an annual "John Mack Oboe Camp" in the community before his death in 2006.