But the five justices, as is customary, adjourned without indicating when they would rule on the first case here holding a woman criminally liable for injury or death to her child as a result of her behavior while pregnant.

Tayshea Aiwohi, 32, who was found guilty after she pleaded no contest to the charge of recklessly killing her two-day-old son Treyson in 2001, watched the proceedings from the back row of the gallery in the packed courtroom.

Even though she chose not to contest the charge, she was permitted under a plea agreement to appeal Circuit Judge Michael Town's refusal to dismiss the case. Town placed her on 10 years probation.

During the hearing, the justices asked both sides a wide range of questions, including Associate Justice Steven Levinson asking whether a decision upholding the conviction would mean a woman who smokes three packs of cigarettes a day while pregnant might be criminally liable for any harm to the child.

City Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Kim replied that "as a matter of law" that a woman's conduct while pregnant might be subject to prosecution, but said he would need more information about Levinson's example of a three-pack-a-day smoker before he could say whether she'd be prosecuted.

Kim later declined to predict how the court might rule.

Aiwohi's lawyer Todd Eddins said he was "quite comfortable" with the way the hearing went.