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").
Dawn is an unincorporated community in eastern Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It lies along FM 809 northeast of the city of Hereford, the county seat of Deaf Smith County. Its elevation is 3,802 feet (1,159 m). Although Dawn is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 79025; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 79025 had a population of 138 at the 2000 census. Dawn was founded by local rancher Jim Moore in 1887; it was named by a shopkeeper who bought the land two years later, but the reason for calling it "Dawn" is disputed. The community flourished in the 1890s, when it received its first schools and railroad line. The community's schools were consolidated with the Hereford district in 1963. The Bluegrass musicians Smokey Mayfield (1924-2008) and Thomas Edd Mayfield (1926-1958) were born in Dawn. A third Mayfield brother, Herbert Mayfield (1920-2008), lived in Dawn as a young boy until his family moved to Dimmitt, the seat of Castro County in 1931.