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").
Paulding is a village in and the county seat of Paulding County, Ohio, United States. It is located predominantly in Paulding Township. The population was 3,595 at the 2000 census. Paulding was a planned community, founded in 1848 at the center of the county, and named after the county by speculators who expected to profit by moving the county seat. In 1851, the county seat was moved from Charloe, which had been the county seat for a decade; prior to that, court was held at Rochester. The town square is devoted to the courthouse, an orange brick structure surrounded by trees upon a spacious lawn. In the centennial year of 1876, the county commissioners determined to build a new courthouse, and visited many courthouses, finally deciding to erect a duplicate of the courthouse in Jackson, Michigan at a cost of $40,000. The courthouse was finished in 1886.