In the middle of this lengthy new SCOTUS order list, which has lots of cert denials and individual opinions about cert denials, is one notable Supreme Court opinion on the merits in Moore v. Texas, No. 18–443 (S. Ct. Feb. 19, 2019). The start and last substantive paragraph of the 10-page per curiam opinion for the Court provides the basics:
In 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that petitioner, Bobby James Moore, did not have intellectual disability and consequently was eligible for the death penalty. Ex parte Moore, 470 S.W.3d 481, 527–528 (Ex parte Moore I). We previously considered the lawfulness of that determination, vacated the appeals court’s decision, and remanded the case for further consideration of the issue. Moore v. Texas, 581 U. S. ___, ___ (2017) (slip op., at 18). The appeals court subsequently reconsidered the matter but reached the same conclusion. Ex parte Moore, 548 S.W.3d 552, 573 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (Ex parte Moore II). We again review its decision, and we reverse its determination….
We conclude that the appeals court’s opinion, when taken as a whole and when read in the light both of our prior opinion...
