Law Commons^™

Life, Death, And Iq: It's Much More Than Just A Score: Understanding And Utilizing Forensic Psychological And Neuropsychological Evaluations In Atkins Intellectual Disability/Mental Retardation Cases, John Matthew Fabian, William W. Thompson, Jeffrey B. Lazarus

Cleveland State Law Review

This article highlights best practices for assessing MR and ID in capital cases with an emphasis on Atkins trial preparation and potential problems the authors have noted through experience. These best practices in Atkins hearings concern issues for the lawyers, forensic psychologists, and neuropsychologists, which include:

1. Practice effects and IQ testing

2. Consistency of IQ scores over time

3. Flynn Effect

4. Malingering versus cognitive suboptimal effort

5. Lack of records indicating pre-age 18 diagnosis of MR/ID

6. Retrospective assessment of adaptive behaviors

7. Death row trends of increasing IQ over the years while incarcerated

8. Maladaptive behaviors versus …

Ford V. Wainwright, Statutory Changes And A New Test For Sanity: You Can't Execute Me, I'M Crazy, Steven J. Huff

Cleveland State Law Review

In Ford v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of an insane inmate. In answering this query, the Court created a constitutional right not to be executed while incompetent. However, the Ford decision is not only important for its creation of a "new" constitutional right, it also has the potential of nullifying several state statutes in regards to the due process requirements of hearings addressing the issue of insanity at the time of execution. The Ford decision also requires that a new test of sanity be created the test of whether …