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").
Wilson, Virginia redirects here. For a community in Grayson County, Virginia, see Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Wilsons is an unincorporated community in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States, along U.S. Route 460 between Petersburg and Blackstone. Several Civil War battles were fought in and around Wilsons, including the Battle of Five Forks. From the late 19th Century through mid-20th Century, it provided water for steam engines on the Norfolk and Western Railway, and the water tower remained a landmark of the town until the 1990s. Today it maintains a U.S. Post Office for its few hundred residents, near the intersection of Springston Road and Cox Road (Route 460).