Next Week in the Supreme Court: Criminal Justice

    The United States Supreme Court will hold three days of oral argument next week and hear six cases, all touching on issues central to the criminal justice system.
    Two cases will deal with the constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel during plea bargaining (Lafler v. Cooper and Missouri v. Frye); one will deal with a matter of growing concern--the due process protections against unreliable eyewitness identification testimony (Perry v. New Hampshire); another will address the deadline imposed on state inmates for filing federal habeas corpus petitions (Gonzalez v. Thaler); a fifth case will address governmental immunity when a governmental official testifies falsely before a grand jury which then issues an indictment (Rehberg v. Paulk); and the sixth will consider suits against individuals who work for companies which have contracted with the government to provide prison services (Minneci v. Pollard).