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Moore v. Texas

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The Supreme Court: Oral Arguments

Philip Randolph

McCoy v. Louisiana

Hernandez v. Mesa

Henry Schein

Encino Motorcars

Hawaii v. Hawaii

Lee v. Tam

Allen v. Cooper

Mathena v. Malvo

Gill v. Whitford

Murr v. Wisconsin

Liu v. Securities

Bucklew v. Precythe

Herbert Hoover

Nadine Strossen

OwlTail

On March 28, 2017, the Supreme Court decided Moore v. Texas, a habeas corpus dispute regarding the scope of the Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia that the execution of a mentally disabled person would violate the Eighth Amendment’s proscription on “cruel and unusual punishments.” Bobby James Moore was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for fatally shooting a sales clerk during a failed robbery attempt. Finding Moore to be intellectually disabled under current medical diagnostic standards set forth in the latest editions of the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) manual and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and invoking Atkins, a state court recommended granting Moore habeas relief in the form of life imprisonment or a new trial. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, rejected that recommendation based on its 2004 decision in Ex Parte Briseno, which relied on standards set forth in a predecessor manual to the AAIDD and a series of evidentiary factors. The Court of Criminal Appeals ultimately determined that Moore had failed to establish significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, and denied relief. By a vote of 5-3, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals and remanded the case. In an opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Criminal Appeals had failed to comply with the requirements of the Eighth Amendment and Supreme Court precedents. By rejecting the habeas court’s application of contemporary medical guidance and clinging to the outdated and nonclinical factors set forth in Briseno, the Supreme Court indicated, the Court of Criminal Appeals had failed adequately to inform itself of the medical community’s diagnostic framework as required by the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Hall v. Florida. Justice Ginsburg’s majority opinion was joined by Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The Chief Justice dissented, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito.  To discuss the case, we have Joanmarie Davoli.

On March 28, 2017, the Supreme Court decided Moore v. Texas, a habeas corpus dispute regarding the scope of the Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia that the execution of a mentally disabled person would violate the Eighth Amendment’s proscription on “cruel and unusual punishments.” Bobby James Moore was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for fatally shooting a sales clerk during a failed robbery attempt. Finding Moore to be intellectually disabled under current medical diagnostic standards set forth in the latest editions of the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) manual and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and invoking Atkins, a state court recommended granting Moore habeas relief in the form of life imprisonment or a new trial. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, rejected that recommendation based on its 2004 decision in Ex Parte Briseno, which relied on standards set forth in a predecessor manual to the AAIDD and a series of evidentiary factors. The Court of Criminal Appeals ultimately determined that Moore had failed to establish significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, and denied relief. By a vote of 5-3, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals and remanded the case. In an opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Criminal Appeals had failed to comply with the requirements of the Eighth Amendment and Supreme Court precedents. By rejecting the habeas court’s application of contemporary medical guidance and clinging to the outdated and nonclinical factors set forth in Briseno, the Supreme Court indicated, the Court of Criminal Appeals had failed adequately to inform itself of the medical community’s diagnostic framework as required by the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Hall v. Florida. Justice Ginsburg’s majority opinion was joined by Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The Chief Justice dissented, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito. To discuss the case, we have Joanmarie Davoli.

Moore v. Texas - Post-Decision SCOTUScast

On November 29, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Moore v. Texas. In 1980, Bobby James Moore was convicted of capital murder for the shooting of James McCarble, a seventy-year-old store clerk, in Houston, Texas. Moore was convicted and received a death sentence, which was affirmed on appeal. After a federal court granted habeas corpus relief, a new punishment hearing occurred in 2001, and Moore was again sentenced to the death penalty. His sentence was again affirmed on appeal. Moore sought state habeas relief and argued that, under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia he was exempt from execution, because he was intellectually disabled. The state court granted habeas relief based on Moore’s Atkins argument, applying a definition of intellectual disability used by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas reversed the grant, noting that the Texas legislature had not yet passed Atkins legislation and that the AAIDD definition of intellectual disability diverged from that previously adopted by Texas courts in the wake of Atkins--a 1992 definition used by AAIDD’s predecessor the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR), as well as the Texas Health and Safety Code.  Moore, the Court of Criminal Appeals held, ultimately failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he was intellectually disabled within the meaning of Atkins, as applied by Texas courts.  --  The question before the U.S. Supreme Court is whether it violates the Eighth Amendment and the Court’s decisions in Hall v. Florida and Atkins v. Virginia to prohibit the use of current medical standards on intellectual disability, and require the use of outdated medical standards, in determining whether an individual may be executed.  --  To discuss the case, we have Kent S. Scheidegger who is Legal Director and General Counsel for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.

Moore v. Texas - Post-Argument SCOTUScast

On November 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. Texas. This case involves the death penalty and the intellectually disabled. Specifically, whether in capital cases it violates the Eighth Amendment and the High Court’s prior rulings in Hall v. Florida and Atkins v. Virginia to preclude the application of current medical standards and require older medical standards to determine the intellectual disability of a criminal defendant.  --  Featuring: Kent S. Scheidegger, Legal Director &amp; General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.

Courthouse Steps: Moore v. Texas