Supreme Court Roundup: Two Decisions Allow Jury Discrimination Claim to Proceed and Keep Protections for Intellectually Disabled in Place

Supreme Court Roundup: Two Decisions Allow Jury Discrimination Claim to Proceed and Keep Protections for Intellectually Disabled in Place

In May 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued deci­sions regard­ing two key types of claims that often appear in cap­i­tal cas­es: jury dis­crim­i­na­tion and intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty. A bipar­ti­san group of con­ser­v­a­tive and lib­er­al jus­tices car­ried each deci­sion. The Court ruled in favor of Mississippi pris­on­er Terry Pitchford, allow­ing his jury dis­crim­i­na­tion claim to pro­ceed; the Court sep­a­rate­ly dis­missed an Alabama c…

Supreme Court Issues Key Decisions on Jury Discrimination and Intellectual Disability Claims

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two significant decisions in May 2026 concerning jury discrimination and intellectual disability in capital cases. The court allowed Terry Pitchford's jury discrimination claim to proceed, while dismissing an Alabama case to preserve a lower court's finding that Joseph Clifton Smith has an intellectual disability and cannot be executed. Concurrently, the Court permitted the execution of Edward Busby in Texas, despit…