In Smith v. Texas, the plaintiff, LaRoyce Lathair Smith was previously put on trial for the murder of Jennifer Soto, had appealed the case and the case was lost. Once the appeal had failed the plaintiff in Smith v. Texas petitioned the court asserting that his eighth and fourteenth amendment rights were violated when the jurors where not informed of his mental handicap. It was Smith's assertion that if the jury were to have been advised on his mental handicap that such information may have affected the outcome of the jury's determination. It was the assertion of Smith and Smith's attorney that if the jury had known about the special circumstances concerning his mental state as well as his familial history during the crime that he would not have received the capital murder sentence and accompanying death sentence.
The District Court approved the petition submitted by Smith and concurred with the idea that Smith's rights had been violated. The case was appealed and put under the consideration of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: the court overturned the decision of the District Court, asserting that Mr. Smith's learning difficulties, mental health issues and familial background were not severe enough to be considered as qualifiers under special conditions that the jury should have taken under consideration when sentencing. The United States Supreme Court then reviewed the case and the Supreme Court returned the case to the Court of Appeals for further consideration. The Court of Appeals stood by their previous decision, asserting that the case was fair and just.
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