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").
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 33,847 at the 2000 census, making it the third largest in Snohomish County and twenty-fourth largest in Washington State. The city is an indefinable mix of urban, suburban, small city, crossroads and bedroom community to many professionals who work in Seattle. Lynnwood is known to be the "hub city" of south Snohomish County because of all the retail shopping. Straddling the junction between Interstate 5 and the north end of Interstate 405 in Washington, it is the final tangle of population on the north end of "greater Seattle" before one continues on to other places: Everett, Bellingham, or Vancouver, BC. Its climate is wet and cool, wetter than that of Seattle. The center of the town at 44th Avenue West and 196th Southwest has the usual American panoply of small businesses, strip malls, and retail stores. Outside the commercial center of Lynnwood, to the east and north, lie Alderwood Mall, houses, and portions of the green belt.