Court Opinion: US Supreme Court Vacates 11th Circuit Ruling in Capital Punishment Intellectual Disability Case

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Hamm v. Smith


Joseph Clifton Smith was sentenced to death for the murder of Durk Van Dam. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama vacated Smith’s death sentence after concluding that he is intellectually disabled. Smith has obtained five full-scale IQ scores, ranging from 72 to 78.

Smith’s claim of intellectual disability depended in part on whether his IQ is 70 or below. The district court found that Smith’s IQ could be as low as 69, given the standard error of measurement for his lowest score of 72. The district court then vacated the death sentence, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. 

Analyzing Smith’s intellectual functioning requires evaluating his various IQ scores. In Hall v. Florida in 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court said that “when a person has taken multiple tests, each separate score must be assessed” considering the standard error of measurement. The court also noted that “the analysis of multiple IQ scores jointly is a complicated endeavor.” 

But the Supreme Court hasn’t specified how courts should evaluate multiple IQ scores.

The high court noted the 11th Circuit’s opinion can be read in two ways. 

On the one hand, the appellate court’s opinion might be read to afford conclusive weight to the fact that the lower end of the standard-error range for Smith’s lowest IQ score is 69. That analysis would suggest a per se rule that the lower end of the standard-error range for an individual’s lowest score is dispositive. 

On the other hand, the Supreme Court noted the 11th Circuit also approvingly cited the district court’s determination that Smith’s lowest score isn’t an outlier when considered together with his higher scores. That analysis would suggest a more holistic approach to multiple IQ scores that considers the relevant evidence, including any relevant expert testimony as appropriate.

The Supreme Court found the 11th Circuit’s opinion is unclear on this point, and the high court said its ultimate assessment of any petition for certiorari by the state may depend on the basis for the 11th Circuit’s decision. 

In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari and Smith’s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, vacated the judgment of the 11th Circuit and remanded the case.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch wrote that they would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari and set the case for argument.

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