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").
Supply is a small unincorporated community in Brunswick County, North Carolina, USA located around the intersection of US 17 (Ocean Highway) and NC 211 (Southport-Supply Road/Green Swamp Road). Its name is derived from the use of the Lockwoods Folly River as a trade route in the 18th and 19th centuries. Residents of the nearby beach communities of Holden Beach, Oak Island, Ocean Isle, Caswell Beach, and Sunset Beach often used to commute to Supply for goods and other materials. This practice is still common, but development in the town of Southport and in the Intracoastal Waterway commercial districts has made traveling to Supply unnecessary. A growing number of people are moving to the Supply area, making it hard to find land. Many people who live in the Supply area go to Shallotte to shop and buy things like gas, food,and clothes. Supply is located midway between the town of Bolivia, the county seat of Brunswick County, and the city of Shallotte, and is just south of the Green Swamp. It is also home to Brunswick Medical Center. Chad McCumbee, an ARCA and NASCAR driver, is a notable resident. The novel Holly by Albert French is set in Supply, although the novel indicates that there is a courthouse in Supply, but since Supply is not a county seat it is unclear why the novel so indicates. From 1993-2007 Steve and Kathy Roemer lived there for 13 years and now Frank Roemer lives there with Spot the chocolate labrador retriever and Steve Roemer goes down there for summer vacation with his dad. Only two blocks down the Windsmere Road lives Derek Leung, one of the five Eastern Sophisticated Poets.