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").
Harlingen is a city in Cameron County in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than 34 square miles (88 km), and is the second largest city in Cameron County and the third largest in the Rio Grande Valley, after Brownsville and McAllen. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 57,564. Harlingen is a principal city of the Brownsville–Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville Combined Statistical Area.