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Supreme Court Declines to Set IQ Threshold for Death Penalty Cases
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a case that asked the justices to clarify how courts should evaluate multiple IQ scores when determining eligibility for capital punishment. The decision leaves existing lower court rulings in place.
May 21, 11:33 AM·1m read1 source
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The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to decide what IQ level is too low for a person to face capital punishment. The court dismissed the case after receiving full briefing and hearing oral argument earlier in the term. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote that the court owed lower courts more clarity on applying IQ rules to executions.
He said the decision not to resolve the issue will have regrettable consequences. The case involved Joseph Smith, convicted in Alabama of first-degree murder in 1998. An IQ test at that time showed a score of 72. Smith later took additional tests with scores ranging from 72 to 78.
State courts allowed the execution to proceed, but federal courts ruled he might fall below the 70-point threshold referenced in a 2002 Supreme Court decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the court is not equipped to provide meaningful guidance on assessing multiple IQ scores.
She said all parties agree the Eighth Amendment does not prescribe a single formula for weighing those scores. Justice Sotomayor was joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Thursday's ruling leaves the lower court decisions in place.
A dissenting opinion argued the court should have provided guidance on the 70-point threshold, multiple tests, and margins of error. The opinion said the decision leaves lower courts unmoored. The dissent also questioned the entire line of reasoning in death penalty IQ cases. It said the Constitution does not set any such standard and suggested the 2002 ruling should be overruled.
