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").
Yemassee is a town in Beaufort and Hampton counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 807 at the 2000 census. Yemassee is also very near the borders of Colleton and Jasper counties and is often considered to be the geographical center or heart of the Lowcountry region. The town is divided by the county line between Beaufort and Hampton Counties, which follows the roadbed of the CSX railroad. Most of the town's population presently lies within Hampton County (as of 2006). As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Beaufort County portion of Yemassee is included within the Hilton Head Island–Beaufort Micropolitan Statistical Area. Yemassee hosts one of the few commercial breeding facilities of non-human primates in the entire United States (Alpha Genesis, Inc.). Also, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Auldbrass Plantation house and outbuildings lie just outside the town limits of Yemassee.