Hamm v. Smith · ¶23

Alabama fled a petition for a writ of certiorari proposing two questions: First, “[w]hether, under a proper application of Atkins, a State can require a claimant to prove an IQ of 70 or less by a preponderance of the evidence”; and second, “[w]hether courts evaluating multiple IQ scores must find that every valid score of `about' 75 or less supports an Atkins claim.” Pet. for Cert. i. This Court declined to grant either question, and instead granted a question raised by the United States on the last two-and-a-half pages of its amicus brief: “Whether and how courts may consider the cumulative effect of multiple IQ scores in assessing an Atkins claim.” Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae on Pet. for Cert. I; see id., at 20–22. The United States did not identify any split among the lower courts on this issue. See id., at 20–22.

preliminary print (page proof)
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.