title: Definition of intellectual disability in criminal court cases.
abstract: Definitions and associated descriptions of the condition now commonly known as intellectual disability serve many functions. The Atkins v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision (2002) has called attention to the importance of clear, objective, and measureable wording of the definition. This article discusses the potential for misunderstanding and misinterpretation of such words as ability and cognitive, the importance of clarifying the role of measurement error and sociocultural factors, and the noncausal relationship between impairment in intelligence and adaptive behavior.
authors.affiliation: Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7255, USA. greg.olley@cidd.unc.edu
authors.forename: J Gregory
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Olley
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D007360:Intelligence; D007603:Jurisprudence; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States; D014768:Virginia