WASHINGTON − More than two decades after the Supreme Court said inmates who are intellectually disabled can't be executed, the court will consider how to deal with multiple intelligence tests in evaluating close calls .

The court on June 6 said it would take up the case of Alabama death row inmate Joseph Smith , who was convicted and sentenced to death for a brutal murder in 1997.

Smith’s IQ scores have ranged from 72 to 78.

Because IQ tests have an error range, lower courts said Smith’s IQ could be below 70, one of the factors for defining intellectual disability.

But the state argues that when five test scores are all above 70, it’s unlikely that Smith’s IQ is 70 or below.

The Justice Department similarly told the Supreme Court that some lower courts are confused about h

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