Moore v. Texas — Scalia, J., dissenting

Summary

Justice Scalia dissents from the Court's grant of stays of execution for Curtis Moore and Brian Edward Davis, arguing that their habeas petitions were dismissed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on adequate and independent state grounds. He maintains that applicants raised their mental retardation claims for the first time at the last minute, failing to demonstrate cause for procedural default or a fundamental miscarriage of justice. He notes the state law bars are firm and adequate, and that the applicants' IQ scores fail to meet statutory standards for mental retardation without evidence of adaptive behavior impairment. Justice Scalia, dissenting, would have denied the stay and rejected the procedural default claims.