Docket 23-167
Hamm v. Smith
DecidedNov 4, 2024
Per Curiamdecision
Source: CourtListener.
Court sends back ruling on IQ testing method for death row inmate's intellectual disability claim
What it does
The Court vacated the Eleventh Circuit's ruling and sent the case back for clarification, because the lower court's opinion was ambiguous about which legal standard it used to evaluate the inmate's multiple IQ scores. The Court did not decide the underlying question of whether the inmate is intellectually disabled, nor did it set a definitive rule for how courts must weigh multiple IQ scores. The ruling requires the Eleventh Circuit to clearly explain its reasoning before the Supreme Court will consider the case further.
Who benefits
Alabama state officials seeking to carry out a death sentence, who now have another opportunity to challenge the lower court's ruling on clearer legal grounds.
Who is affected
Death row inmates who claim intellectual disability and whose IQ scores cluster near the threshold of 70, particularly those with multiple test scores that span above and below that cutoff.
Practical impact
The Eleventh Circuit must issue a new opinion that clearly states which legal standard it applied when evaluating Smith's multiple IQ scores. Until that clarification is made, Smith's death sentence remains on hold. The Supreme Court signaled it may take up the broader question of how courts should evaluate multiple IQ scores in intellectual disability cases once the lower court's reasoning is clear.
Majority reasoning
The Court explained that Smith had five IQ scores ranging from 72 to 78, and that his claim of intellectual disability depended on whether his IQ could be considered 70 or below. The lower courts found that the standard error of measurement — a statistical range of uncertainty built into any IQ test — meant his lowest score of 72 could be as low as 69, and vacated his death sentence on that basis. The Court noted that the Eleventh Circuit's opinion could be read two different ways: either as a rigid rule that the low end of the error range for the single lowest score is automatically decisive, or as a more flexible, case-by-case approach that weighs all scores together along with expert testimony. Because the Supreme Court has never specified exactly how courts must handle multiple IQ scores, and because the correct reading of the Eleventh Circuit's reasoning matters for deciding whether to take the case, the Court sent it back for a clearer explanation.
Constitutional question
When a death row inmate has multiple IQ scores, what is the correct legal method for evaluating whether his IQ is low enough to qualify as intellectually disabled and therefore exempt from execution under Atkins v. Virginia?