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").
Edna is a city in Jackson County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,899 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County. Edna is the gateway to 11,000-acre (45 km) Lake Texana, which covers the site of Texana, Texas. The city has a hospital, convalescent home, library, museum, city park with swimming pool, three banks, two savings and loan associations, a country club with a nine-hole golf course, and Oak Creek Village, a retirement community. It is the center of a prosperous agricultural area with petroleum and natural gas production and has an active chamber of commerce, oilfield service industries, and two grain elevators. The town was named after a daughter of Count Joseph Telfener - an Italian entrepreneur who was building a railroad from Rosenberg to Victoria. Other family members had towns named after them as well. While the railroad had the ambitious name of The New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad, it didn't originate in New York, nor did it reach Mexico. Known as "The Macaroni Line" for the Italian workmen who were brought from Italy for construction, the rails eventually went as far as Victoria. On the courthouse lawn is a monument to Irwin Moore Laughter (July 28, 1893 - June 19, 1916) of the United States Navy, who was killed in Mazatlan, Mexico, during the attempt by General John J. Pershing to capture the Mexican bandit Pancho Villa.