Also known as: intellectual disabilities · intellectually disabled · mental retardation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A condition involving substantial limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that originates before adulthood.
A classification that receives rational-basis review under the Equal Protection Clause yet forbids government action resting solely on prejudice or animus.
A condition involving substantial limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that originates before adulthood.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A classification that receives rational-basis review under the Equal Protection Clause yet forbids government action resting solely on prejudice or animus.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A condition that renders a defendant categorically ineligible for capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A condition that renders a defendant categorically ineligible for capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Ira Irving, a resident with profound intellectual disability at a state facility, was routinely placed in physical restraints after minor incidents. Staff provided no training to improve his self-care skills. The restraint and lack of habilitation violate substantive due process because the state must ensure safe conditions and minimally adequate training for those committed to its care.
Idina Iverson was charged with a nonviolent offense. After evaluation she was found incompetent to stand trial due to intellectual disability and committed indefinitely. No substantial probability of restoration was shown. Continued detention violates due process because the state may not hold an incompetent defendant indefinitely without progress toward trial.
They possess rights to safe conditions of confinement, freedom from unnecessary bodily restraints, and minimally adequate training or habilitation.
Supporting sources
No. Due process forbids indefinite commitment when there is no substantial probability that the defendant will become competent to stand trial.
Harbor Homes LLC purchased a house intending to lease it to a nonprofit operating supervised residences for adults with intellectual disabilities. The town amended its code to bar congregate living arrangements for the intellectually disabled while allowing fraternities and sober living homes. The permit was denied solely because of the residents' condition. The denial violates equal protection because it reflects bare prejudice rather than any legitimate land use interest.
Rational basis review applies. Even under this deferential standard the government may not act from mere prejudice or unsubstantiated fear directed at persons with intellectual disability.
Supporting sources
Isabelle Inman was convicted of capital murder. Clinical records established her lifelong intellectual disability with an IQ in the low sixties and significant adaptive deficits dating to childhood. The state sought the death penalty. The sentence is unconstitutional because the Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits execution of persons with intellectual disability.
Imran Iyer faced capital charges. His IQ measured 71 on one test. State law barred further evidence of intellectual disability once the score exceeded 70. The rigid cutoff is unconstitutional because it creates an unacceptable risk that a person with intellectual disability will be executed.
Isabella Ingram, age seventeen at the time of the offense, was convicted of capital murder. Records showed significant intellectual disability from early childhood. The death sentence is invalid because the Eighth Amendment prohibits both execution of juveniles and execution of persons with intellectual disability.
No. The Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits execution of persons with intellectual disability regardless of the crime.
Supporting sources
No. Such a cutoff is unconstitutional because it creates an unacceptable risk that a person with intellectual disability will be executed.
Supporting sources
…et al. by Celeste McCollough ; for the American Bar Association by George E. Bushnell, Jr. ; for the American Association on Mental Retardation et al. by James W. Ellis and Maureen A. Sanders ; for The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL—CIO, by John C. Dempsey and Larry P. Weinberg ; for the…