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").
Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. As of a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city population was 27,614. Lake Jackson is named after an oxbow lake of the same name on the outskirts of town. The lake in turn was named after the family whose antebellum plantation house sat alongside the lake; only very minor ruins of the Lake Jackson Plantation can now be seen in a park at the site. The city is the birthplace of famous Tejano superstar, Selena, rock musician Casey McPherson, and hometown of country music singers Cole Deggs and Shade Deggs of the group Cole Deggs & The Lonesome. The city has also long been the hometown of Ron Paul, the Congressman who represents Texas' 14th Congressional District .