Hamm v. Smith · ¶152
In reaching this conclusion, however, the Eleventh Circuit employed an illegitimate approach to analyzing Smith's scores. The record below contained five valid IQ scores for Smith: 75, 74, 72, 78, and 74. 67 F. 4th, at 1345–1346. When assessing whether Smith's IQ was 70 or lower based on these data, the Eleventh Circuit did not employ any recognized method for analyzing multiple test scores. Instead, it determined Smith's “true” IQ by taking the value at “the lower end” of the confidence interval for “his lowest IQ score.” Id., at 1346. Here, Smith's lowest valid score was 72, with a standard error of measurement of 3. Id., at 1340. From those values, the Eleventh Circuit determined that Smith's IQ was “actually as low as 69” and his Atkins claim therefore met the 70-IQ cutoff. 67 F. 4th, at 1349. In other words, under the Eleventh Circuit's view, whenever the lower bound of a…Read in context ›
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