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").
Hedgesville is a town in Berkeley County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The population was 240 at the 2000 census. The Town of Hedgesville was laid out in 1832 along the old Warm Springs Road and named for the prominent local Hedges family. Hedgesville is a National Register Historic District. On August 17, 2004, President George W. Bush made a re-election campaign stop and photo-op at Hedgesville High School. This is a highly unusual event for Hedgesville, but can be explained by West Virginia's then status as a swing state in the 2004 Election.