Hamm v. Smith · ¶122

This case presents one of those questions: How should a court apply a 70-IQ cutoff when a defendant has multiple test scores in the record? As the decisions below demonstrate, our failure to address this recurring question has led to confusion and unsound analysis in lower courts. When the Court granted Alabama's most recent petition in this case, we asked the parties and amici to brief this question. 605 U. S. 1001 (2025). Their briefng provided helpful insight on analyzing multiple scores cumulatively. The Court nonetheless dismisses this opportunity to provide much-needed guidance to lower courts, even though six Justices stake out a position on whether the decision below is correct. See ante, at 291 (Sotomayor, J., joined by Jackson, J., concurring).

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