WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court takes up the question of prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday in the case of a man who almost died for a crime he didn't commit.
Nearly 35 years ago the high court ruled that prosecutors cannot face civil lawsuits over how they handle criminal cases in court, USA Today reported.
An investigation by the newspaper has documented 201 cases since 1997 in which judges determined that federal prosecutors violated laws or ethics rules.
Some of the abuses put innocent people in jail but not one resulted in a successful lawsuit against a prosecutor, USA Today said.
The latest test case involves a New Orleans man named James Thompson who was awarded $14 million after his attorneys discovered that prosecutors deliberately covered up evidence that exonerated him of a 1984 murder.
Thompson was freed from death row a month before he was scheduled to be executed.
The Supreme Court must decide whether he can keep the money., USA Today said.
