Happy Turkey day from the blogmaster

Shriver op-ed on Moore v Texas continuing saga with SCOTUS

The LA Times published an excellent op-ed that explains, in simple understandable language, the issues and reasoning behind the recent legal saga of Moore v Texas.  A pdf copy is available here.

Here is link to the latest blog post that can lead you through the past and recent decisions in this case.

The use of the Woodcock-Johnson Fourth Edition (WJ IV) GIA Cognitive IQ score in intellectual disability (ID) determination

The WJ IV Cognitive GIA in iintellectual disability (ID) assessment from Kevin McGrew

Atkins decisions: More on Moore v TX (2018). ABA files brief on behalf of Moore - UPDATED 11-20-18 to include APA amicus brief

Interesting turn of events re: Moore v. Texas. ABA story here.

The AG’s motion can be found here. The ABA amicus brief can be found here.

The trail of prior documents and decision can be found starting here.

11-20-18 UPDATE.  I previously did not have a copy of the APA amicus brief. A copy is now available here.


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Law Review Article: Intellectual Disability in Capital Cases: Adjusting State Statutes After Moore v. Texas

Another new Atkins related law review article available here.


ABSTRACT

In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution of intellectually disabled inmates violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment. Twelve years later in Hall v. Florida (2014), the Court revisited its Atkins decision to provide further clarification on how states should assess intellectual disability. This article examines Moore v. Texas (2017), the latest development in the Court's rulings on capital determinations of intellectual disability. It also reviews state statutes and court cases from the thirty-one death penalty states to determine how they comport with the Court's Moore ruling. These statutes and cases shed light on issues with respect to intellectual disability in capital trials that the Court has yet to address. The article concludes with model language to help states make their capital punishment protocols constitutional, so that the intellectually disabled remain free from execution.

Research Byte: Flynn Effect in Kuwait, 1985-1998

This study will be added to the Flynn Effect Archive Project the next time it is update.

https://iqmrdeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2017/09/flynn-effect-reference-project.html

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Law Review Article: Evaluating Intellectual Disability: Clinical Assessments in Atkins Cases (Ellis et al., 2018)

This new law review article is, IMHO, the best overview article regarding the history of ID, the legal issues in Atkins cases, and good discussion of the major conceptual and measurement issues found in many Atkins cases. An excellent introduction to ID issues in Atkins cases.

EVALUATING INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: CLINICAL ASSESSMENTS IN ATKINS CASES

James W. Ellis, Caroline Everington, Ann M. Delpha

ABSTRACT

The intersection of intellectual disability and the death penalty is now clearly established. Both under the U.S. Supreme Court's constitutional decisions and under the terms of many state statutes, individual defendants who have that disability cannot be sentenced to death or executed. It now falls to trial, appellate, and post-conviction courts to determine which individual criminal defendants are entitled to the law's protection. This Article attempts to assist judges in performing that task. After a brief discussion of the Supreme Court's decisions in Atkins v. Virginia, Hall v. Florida, and Moore v. Texas, it analyzes the component parts and terminology of the clinical definition of intellectual disability. It then offers more detailed discussion of a number of the clinical issues that arise frequently in adjudicating these cases. For each of these issues, the Article's text and the accompanying notes attempt to provide judges with a thorough survey of the relevant clinical literature, and an explanation of the terminology used by clinical professionals. Our purpose is to help those judges to become more knowledgeable consumers of the clinical reports and expert testimony presented to them in individual cases, and to help them reach decisions that are consistent with what the clinical literature reveals about the nature of intellectual disability and best professional practices in the diagnostic process.

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