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").
Bridgeport is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 18 miles (29 km) north of Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River. The old-time industries were paper, flour, cotton, and woolen mills, steel works, brickyards, etc. Bridgeport is six miles (10 km) east of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, General George Washington and the Continental Army passed through Bridgeport on their way to their winter encampment in Valley Forge. 3,097 people lived in Bridgeport in 1900; 3,860 in 1910; and 5,904 in 1940. The population was 4,371 at the 2000 census.