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").
Ocean Isle Beach is a town located in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 426 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located at the southern end of North Carolina's Atlantic Ocean coastline, with access to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Ocean Isle Beach has many beach houses and second homes, and is a tourist attraction because of its beauty, atmosphere, and proximity to other major beach towns. On October 28, 2007, the tiny, normally quiet community found itself in worldwide news as an early Sunday morning four-alarm fire at a three-story beach house occupied by 13 college students claimed seven lives, injuring six more. Widespread publicity and the magnitude of the tragedy of the Ocean Isle Beach house fire renewed public interest on issues in many communities which included fire safety, building codes, flamability of materials, and fire suppression methods such as sprinkler systems, as well as the potential benefits of monitored fire alarm systems, which can be added to existing structures at relatively minimal costs.