The era of Trump has opened numerous pathways for decades-long judicial precedents and progress to be stripped away from America’s most vulnerable and unjustly treated citizens.
In just the past five years, the Supreme Court has revisited countless cases and appeals from an energized conservative faction that threatens to endanger those most at risk, especially with the current appeal being heard.
On Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, the Supreme Court heard the appeal from Alabama regarding Joseph Clifton Smith, 55, who is serving a sentence for beating a man to death. Smith has been under a capital murder sentence since 1997 but has avoided execution under the Eighth Amendment due to multiple IQ tests indicating he is intellectually disabled.
The appeal—brought by Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner—challenges the precedent set by the 2002 case Atkins v. Virginia, which determined that the execution of individuals deemed "mentally retarded" violates the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment. Under this ruling, states are responsible for establishing standards for evaluating intellectual disabilities.
However, many states have reduced intellectual disabilities to merely IQ scores, despite the court and the American Psychological Association (APA) emphasizing the need for holistic and comprehensive assessments—something an IQ test alone cannot provide.
An amicus brief submitted by the APA in Smith's case states that "accurate diagnosis of intellectual disability requires a comprehensive clinical assessment of three diagnostic criteria: general intellectual functioning, adaptive functioning, and onset during the developmental period."
The brief further asserts, “Intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are faulty and invalid. IQ test scores are estimates, not certain or absolute measures of intelligence.” It also highlights that while clinicians should compare scores from different IQ tests for an individual, averaging these scores introduces errors and biases in determining disability. As stated in the brief, “An average of multiple IQ test scores will be misleadingly high if most of the scores are below average and misleadingly low if most of the scores are above average.”
If the court rules in favor of Alabama’s appeal—which is expected by early summer—the standards for determining intellectual disability could be lowered. Such a ruling threatens not only those within the system who genuinely suffer from mental disabilities but also those prejudiced against by the system.
This conservative-leaning court has already overturned 50 years of precedent established by the landmark case Roe v. Wade, returning decisions on abortion and women's rights to individual states. This has forced hundreds of women and adolescent girls to carry risky or unwanted pregnancies that can lead to health complications or even death. If Alabama's petition receives a favorable ruling, thousands of people currently on death row may face greater risk due to potentially inhumane standards.