Argument in NJ over application of Atkins

As noted in this Newsday article, the New Jersey Supreme Court is scheduled on Tuesday to hear arguments in NJ v. Jimenez concerning the procedures for adjudicating mental retardation claims by capital defendants in the wake of Atkins v. Virginia.  As detailed in this post and this follow-up, the lower court in Jimenez held, based in part on Apprendi and Blakely, that prosecutors seeking the death penalty must prove a defendant is not mentally retarded beyond a reasonable doubt.  The arguments can be viewed starting at 10am at this link.

UPDATE: I caught a part of the Jimenez oral argument, which should eventually be archived here, and found it very engaging and thought-provoking.  And yet, given the fact that, over the past 23 years, New Jersey has spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars on its capital punishment system without executing anyone, the actual outcome in Jimenez may not significantly impact the death penalty in the Garden State.