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").
Beaverdam is a small unincorporated community in Hanover County in the central region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was located on the Virginia Central Railroad, which later became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. It is the location of two historic locations: Scotchtown, a residence of Patrick Henry, and the Beaverdam Depot. It was also the childhood home of Thomas Nelson Page, a notable author and American diplomat in the 20th century. Consisting primarily of farmland, today it is an outlying suburb of Richmond. The railroad still passes through, operated by the Buckingham Branch Railroad, a Virginia-based short line railroad. Beaverdam Elementary School of Hanover County Public Schools celebrated their centennial anniversary in 2006.