Disability Scoop
Supreme Court To Hear Case On Intellectual Disability
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case that advocates say could have major implications for how intellectual disability is defined.
The American SpectatorOpinion
The Supreme Court Puts IQ on Trial Again
I Q is back in the news with the Supreme Court’s third look at IQ and capital punishment since 2002. On December 10, 2025, the Court will hear arguments in Hamm v. Smith, a case about an Alabama prisoner’s death eligibility that could have broader impacts.
Mother Jones
Alabama Wants to Lower the Bar for Executing Disabled People—if SCOTUS Lets It
The state of Alabama disagrees: anyone scoring 70 or above on one test, its attorney general contends, is intelligent enough to execute. In 2022, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument—setting the stage for a Supreme Court turnaround on IQ and capital punishment.
Disability Scoop
Supreme Court To Weigh How Intellectual Disability Is Defined
Disability advocates are speaking out as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to take on a case that hinges on whether a diagnosis of intellectual disability should be based on more than an IQ score. The high court is expected to hear a case known as Hamm v.
Alabama argues for right to execute the ‘mildly disabled,’ takes case to Supreme Court
When Joseph Smith was 27, he was involved in the brutal beating death of a man in Mobile. At the time, he was reading at fourth-grade level. Is it enough to keep him from being executed? The federal courts think so.