Jones v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 21 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 26 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A. Significantly subaverage intellectual functioning: an IQ of approximately 70 or below on an individually administered IQ test (for infants, a clinical judgment of significantly subaverage intellectual functioning). B. Concurrent deficits or impairments in present adaptive functioning (i.e., the person’s effectiveness in meeting the standards expected for his or her age by his or her cultural group) in at least two of the following areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health, and safety. C.The onset is before age 18 years.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 2 So. 3d 137 - Nixon v. State · 984 So. 2d 503 - Phillips v. State

2. “Jones first argues that the trial court erred in concluding that because his IQ was consistently above 70, he did not meet the first prong of the mental retardation definition. Jones claims that mental retardation may be diagnosed in individuals with IQs between 70 and 75 when they exhibit significant deficits in adaptive behavior. First, we already have found the trial court’s determination that Jones is not deficient in adaptive functioning to be supported by competent, substantial evidence. Insofar as this involves the application of Florida’s statute, we find this claim also fails under the plain language of the statute. Under Florida law, the first prong of a mental retardation determination requires that the person exhibit “significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning,” and further defines that term as “performance that is two or more standard deviations from the mean score on a standardized intelligence test” specified by the Department of Children and Family Services. § 921.137(1), Fla. Stat. (2005). The Department in turn has designated the WAIS, the test administered to Jones, as an approved test. Fla. Admin. Code R. 65B-4.032. On the WAIS, a score of 70 is two standard deviations from the mean. Accordingly, under the plain language of the statute, “significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning” correlates with an IQ of 70 or below. See Zack v. State, 911 So.2d 1190, 1201 (Fla.2005) (“Under Florida law, one of the criteria to determine if a”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 776 F. Supp. 2d 1323 - Jones v. McNeil

3. “Both Florida law and our rule state that the exception to the death penalty applies to a defendant who “is mentally retarded” or “has mental retardation.” § 921.137(2), Fla. Stat. (stating no person may ,be sentenced to death “if it is determined in accordance with this section that the defendant has mental retardation”); Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.203(e) (providing for an evidentiary hearing to consider “the issue of whether the defendant is mentally retarded”). Thus, the question is whether a defendant “is” mentally retarded, not whether he was. Both the statute and our rule define mental retardation as .“significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the period from conception to age 18.” § 921.137(1), Fla. Stat. (2005) (emphasis added); Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.203(b). Jones does not dispute that the intellectual functioning component must be based on current testing. Moreover, his own expert based his determination of this prong largely on testing administered between 1991 and 2005, from the time Jones was 29 to the time of the rule 3.203 hearing. "What Jones argues is that the second prong is concerned solely with an individual’s adaptive behavior as a child under age 18. The legal definition, however, states that the intellectual functioning component must “exist[] concurrently with” the deficient adaptive behavior. The word “concurrent” means “operating or occurring, at the same time.” Merriam ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Arbelaez v. Crews