Today at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on two cases related to criminal prosecutions today.  The first, Pottawattamie County v. McGhee, examines whether prosecutors are subject to a civil trial and potential damages for wrongful conviction and incarceration when the criminal defendant alleges that the prosecutor encouraged a witness to lie during the criminal investigation and then presented that testimony during the criminal trial.

The Court's other argument today, Wood v. Allen, deals with several questions that have arisen during a capital punishment case.  Most of the questions concern the ways that the courts and attorneys handled the defendant's mental impairments, but there's also a Batson jury/evidence question thrown in for good measure.