Supreme Court Begins New Term with at Least One Capital Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its 2014 – 15 term on October 6. One of the cas­es the Court will hear dur­ing its first month is Jennings v. Stephens, a Texas death penal­ty case involv­ing inef­fec­tive­ness of coun­sel and whether a sep­a­rate appeal is nec­es­sary for each such claim. Oral argu­ments will take place on October 15. The Court has been asked to review an appeal from Scott Panetti, anoth­er death row inmate from Texas, who may be men­tal­ly incom­pe­tent. Last year, the Supreme Court struck down Florida​’s strict IQ cut­off for deter­min­ing intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty. In that case, Hall v. Florida, the Court con­clud­ed that ​“Florida’s law con­tra­venes our Nation’s com­mit­ment to dig­ni­ty and its duty to teach human decen­cy as the mark of a civilized world.”

(DPIC, October 3, 2014). See U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Disability, Mental Illness, and Representation.