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").
Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,652 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 66,215 according to year 2000 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau), an (MSA) which includes all of Oconee County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area (population 1,185,534 according to year 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates). The Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate for 2004, former United States Senator from North Carolina, John Edwards, was born in Seneca. The city is the current home of United States Senator Lindsey Graham. It was named for the nearby Cherokee town of Isunigu, known to the English as "Seneca Town".