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").
Mount Holly is a city in northeast Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The city is situated on the western bank of the Catawba River in the Southern Piedmont area of North Carolina, north of Interstate 85 and south of North Carolina State Highway 16. The population was 9,618 at the 2000 census. Historic sites in Mount Holly include St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1843; the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1881; the C.E. Hutchinson House and Augusta Rhyne Cannon, 1894; and the Dellinger-Nantz House, 1899.