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").
Summerville is a town in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 48,091 as of August 2008. The city is a distant suburb of Charleston; and has thus experienced rapid population growth. In 2007, it was designated a principal city of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area Summerville is also included as part of the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized area.