Moore v. Texas
| Docket No. | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-797 | Nov 29, 2016 | Apr 29, 2025 | 5-3 | Ginsburg | OT 2016 |
Holding: By rejecting the habeas court's application of current medical diagnostic standards and by following the standard under Ex parte Briseno, including the nonclinical Briseno factors, the decision of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals does not comport with the Eighth Amendment and Supreme Court precedents.
Judgment: Vacated and remanded, 5-3, in an opinion by Justice Ginsburg on April 29, 2025. Chief Justice Roberts filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Thomas and Alito joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Death-penalty symposium: In search of predictability (Joseph Tartakovsky, June 29, 2017)
- Death-penalty symposium: A court increasingly uncomfortable with the death penalty (Stephen McAllister, June 29, 2017)
- Death-penalty symposium: Incremental victories for capital defendants but no sweeping change (Carol Steiker and Jordan Steiker, June 28, 2017)
- Death-penalty symposium: Supreme Court marks time for a term on capital punishment (Kent Scheidegger, June 28, 2017)
- Death-penalty symposium: Evolving standards for "evolving standards" (Dominic Draye, June 27, 2017)
- Death-penalty symposium: The court keeps treating a fatally diseased death penalty (Brian Stull, June 27, 2017)
- Death-penalty symposium: Even with this conservative court, some progressive wins remain possible (Brianne Gorod, June 27, 2017)
- Opinion analysis: A victory for intellectually disabled inmates in Texas (Amy Howe, March 28, 2017)
- Argument analysis: Texas inmate seems likely to prevail in death-row disability challenge (Amy Howe, November 29, 2016)
- Argument preview: Court returns, again, to the death penalty and the intellectually disabled (Amy Howe, November 22, 2016)
- Court reopens race and death penalty issues (Lyle Denniston, June 6, 2016)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 12/15/2015 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 19, 2016) |
| 01/19/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. |
| 01/19/2016 | Brief amici curiae of The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, et al. filed. |
| 01/19/2016 | Brief amici curiae of International Organizations Interested in Medical Expertise, Psychiatry and Criminal Justice filed. |
| 01/19/2016 | Brief amici curiae of International Law and Human Rights Institutes, Societies, Practitioners and Scholars filed. |
| 01/19/2016 | Brief amici curiae of The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, et al. filed. |
| 01/20/2016 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including February 18, 2016. |
| 02/18/2016 | Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including March 18, 2016. |
| 03/18/2016 | Brief of respondent Texas in opposition filed. |
| 04/01/2016 | Reply of petitioner Bobby James Moore filed. |
| 04/06/2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of April 22, 2016. |
| 04/25/2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of April 29, 2016. |
| 04/27/2016 | Record Requested . |
| 05/06/2016 | Record received from the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. The record is electronic. |
| 05/09/2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of May 12, 2016. |
| 05/16/2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of May 19, 2016. |
| 05/23/2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of May 26, 2016. |
| 05/31/2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of June 2, 2016. |
| 06/06/2016 | Petition GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition. |
| 06/14/2016 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the respondent. |
| 06/28/2016 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the petitioner. |
| 07/11/2016 | The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including July 28, 2016. |
| 07/11/2016 | The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including September 6, 2016. |
| 07/28/2016 | Brief of petitioner Bobby James Moore filed. |
| 07/28/2016 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed.) |
| 08/03/2016 | Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Texas filed. |
| 08/04/2016 | Brief amici curiae of International Organizations and Individuals Interested in Medical Expertise and Psychiatry filed. |
| 08/04/2016 | Brief amici curiae of American Psychological Assocation, et al. filed. |
| 08/04/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The American Bar Association filed. |
| 08/04/2016 | Brief amici curiae of The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, et al. filed. |
| 08/04/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The Constitution Project filed. |
| 09/06/2016 | Brief of respondent Texas filed. |
| 09/13/2016 | Brief amici curiae of Arizona, et al. filed. |
| 09/13/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed. |
| 10/06/2016 | Proposal of counsel for petitioner to lodge copies of opinions, cited in the reply brief, which are not available electronically. |
| 10/06/2016 | Reply of petitioner Bobby James Moore filed. |
| 10/21/2016 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 |
| 10/26/2016 | CIRCULATED. |
| 11/01/2016 | Record requested from the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. |
| 11/04/2016 | Record received from the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas is electronic. |
| 11/29/2016 | Argued. For petitioner: Clifford M. Sloan, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Scott A. Keller, Solicitor General, Austin, Tex. |
| 03/28/2017 | Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Roberts, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas and Alito, JJ., joined. |
| 05/01/2017 | MANDATE ISSUED. |
| 05/01/2017 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |