In Hamm v. Smith, will the Supreme Court rule that lower courts erred in vacating Defendant Joseph Clifton Smith's death sentence because the district court found him to be intellectually disabled?

The Economist asks:

In Hamm v. Smith, will the Supreme Court rule that lower courts erred in vacating Defendant Joseph Clifton Smith's death sentence because the district court found him to be intellectually disabled?

Started Oct 02, 2025 02:00PM UTC
Closing Jul 01, 2026 07:01AM UTC

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In the News 2026 The Economist: 2025-26 Supreme Court "SCOTUSbot" Forecasting Challenge

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Smith, who was sentenced to death for capital murder, had his death sentence set aside because a state district court found that he was intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution under Supreme Court precedent (USA Today). After a previous remand for the Eleventh Circuit to clarify a previous holding, the Court agreed to hear the case (Oyez, SCOTUSblog, Eleventh Circuit Opinion 14 November 2024). The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in its 2025 term, but if it does not, the question will close as "No." If the Court decides this case without addressing this question's particular issue or issues of law, the question will close as "No."

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Possible Answer	Crowd Forecast	Change in last 24 hours	Change in last week	Change in last month
Yes	48.30%	0%	0%	+0.70%
No	51.70%	0%	0%	-0.70%

The Economist asks:

In Hamm v. Smith, will the Supreme Court rule that lower courts erred in vacating Defendant Joseph Clifton Smith's death sentence because the district court found him to be intellectually disabled?

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