Moore v. Texas

586 U.S. 133, 139 S. Ct. 666
Supreme Court of the United States·Decided February 19, 2019·No. No. 18-443·Published·Cited by 88 cases

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

In 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that petitioner, Bobby James Moore, did not have intellectual disability and consequently was eligible for the death penalty. Ex parte Moore , 470 S.W.3d 481, 527-528 ( Ex parte Moore I ). We previously considered the lawfulness of that determination, vacated the appeals court's decision, and remanded the case for further consideration of the issue. Moore v. Texas , 581 U.S. ----, ----, 137 S.Ct. 1039, 1053, 197 L.Ed.2d 416 (2017). The appeals court subsequently reconsidered the matter but reached the same conclusion. Ex parte Moore , 548 S.W.3d 552, 573 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) ( Ex parte Moore II ). We again review its decision, and we reverse its determination.

I

When we first heard this case, in Moore , we noted that the state trial court (a state habeas court) "received affidavits and heard testimony from Moore's family members, former counsel, and a number of court-appointed mental-health experts." 581 U.S., at ----, 137 S.Ct., at 1045. We described the evidence as "reveal[ing]" the following:

"Moore had significant mental and social difficulties beginning at an early age. At 13, Moore lacked basic understanding of the days of the week, the months of the *668year, and the seasons; he could scarcely tell time or comprehend the standards of measure or the basic principle that subtraction is the reverse of addition. At school, because of his limited ability to read and write, Moore could not keep up with lessons. Often, he was separated from the rest of the class and told to draw pictures. Moore's father, teachers, and peers called him 'stupid' for his slow reading and speech. After failing every subject in the ninth grade, Moore dropped out of high school. Cast out of his home, he survived on the streets, eating from trash cans, even after two bouts of food poisoning." Ibid . (citations omitted).

On the basis of this and other evidence, the trial court found that Moore had intellectual disability and thus was ineligible for the death penalty under Atkins v. Virginia , 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002). App. to Pet. for Cert. 310a-311a. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed that determination, Ex parte Moore I , 470 S.W.3d 481, and we reviewed its decision, Moore , 581 U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1039, 197 L.Ed.2d 416.

At the outset of our opinion, we recognized as valid the three underlying legal criteria that both the trial court and appeals court had applied. Id ., at ---- - ----, 137 S.Ct., at 1045-1046 (citing American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports (11th ed. 2010) (AAIDD-11); American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed. 2013) (DSM-5)). To make a finding of intellectual disability, a court must see: (1) deficits in intellectual functioning-primarily a test-related criterion, see DSM-5, at 37; (2) adaptive deficits, "assessed using both clinical evaluation and individualized ... measures," ibid .; and (3) the onset of these deficits while the defendant was still a minor, id ., at 38. With respect to the first criterion, we wrote that Moore's intellectual testing indicated his was a borderline case, but that he had demonstrated sufficient intellectual-functioning deficits to require consideration of the second criterion-adaptive functioning. Moore , 581 U.S., at ---- - ----, 137 S.Ct., at 1048-1050. With respect to the third criterion, we found general agreement that any onset took place when Moore was a minor. Id ., at ----, n. 3, 137 S.Ct., at 1045, n. 3.

But there was significant disagreement between the state courts about whether Moore had the adaptive deficits needed for intellectual disability. "In determining the significance of adaptive deficits, clinicians look to whether an individual's adaptive performance falls two or more standard deviations below the mean in any of the three adaptive skill sets (conceptual, social, and practical)." Id ., at ----, 137 S.Ct., at 1046 (citing AAIDD-11, at 43). Based on the evidence before it, the trial court found that "Moore's performance fell roughly two standard deviations below the mean in all three skill categories." 581 U.S., at ----, 137 S.Ct., at 1046 ; see App. to Pet. for Cert. 309a. Reversing that decision, the appeals court held that Moore had "not proven by a preponderance of the evidence" that he possessed the requisite adaptive deficits, and thus was eligible for the death penalty. Ex parte Moore I , 470 S.W.3d at 520. We disagreed with the appeals court's adaptive-functioning analysis, however, and identified at least five errors.

First, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals "overemphasized Moore's perceived adaptive strengths." Moore , 581 U.S., at ----, 137 S.Ct., at 1050. "But the medical community," we said, "focuses the *669adaptive-functioning inquiry on adaptive deficits ." Ibid .

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Moore v. Texas, 586 U.S. 133, 139 S. Ct. 666 (2019).

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