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").
Mead is a small unincorporated farming community north of Spokane in Spokane County, Washington, United States. This rural area is not tracked by the United States Census Bureau. In 1900 Mead was the second stop on the Spokane Falls & Northern Railway. The community included the Cushing & Bryant general store, a blacksmith shop, a public school with approximately 60 students, a Methodist Episcopal church, and a Sunday school. At the time the post office was located in the Cushing & Bryant store. The Mead School District, which is named after the town of Mead, as their very first school was built there, enrolls approximately 9000 students in two high schools, two middle schools, and eight elementary schools. The district also has an alternative high school. Mead is home to the computer game development firm, Cyan Worlds, makers of Myst and Riven. The Kaiser Aluminum Mead Works, which operated as a leading area employer from 1942 until curtailment in 2001, is nearby.