No. 22-580October Term 2022Decided May 15, 2023
Hamm v. Smith
This case involves an emergency application by the State of Alabama to vacate a stay of execution granted to a death row inmate who challenged the state's lethal injection protocol.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released May 15, 2023
- What it's about
This case involves an emergency application by the State of Alabama to vacate a stay of execution granted to a death row inmate who challenged the state's lethal injection protocol. The Supreme Court granted the application, allowing the execution to proceed, though the state ultimately called it off due to issues with establishing intravenous lines.
Question presented
1. Whether the Eleventh Circuit’s decision, which creates a conflict among the circuits and state courts of last resort, violates this Court’s precedent by failing to apply the “standard error of measurement” to a petitioner’s IQ scores. 2. Whether the Eleventh Circuit’s decision, which creates a conflict among the circuits and state courts of last resort, violates this Court’s precedent by failing to consider the “Flynn Effect” when evaluating a petitioner’s IQ scores.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Decision released May 15, 2023
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Documents
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Mar 31, 2026
- Method
- Methodology