Opinion ID: 1060393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 20

Heading: intelligence quotient testing

Text: Appellants contend that the trial court erred when it failed to order that an intelligence quotient (IQ) test be administered to Appellants while they were under the influence of alcohol. We disagree. On July 27, 1995, Appellants filed a motion asking the court to order that they be tested for IQ while they were under the influence of alcohol. At the hearing on the motion on January 30, 1996, Appellants argued that their consumption of alcohol shortly before the time that Griffin was killed may have lowered their IQ level below 70, which would have rendered them statutorily ineligible for the death penalty. [7] However, Appellants argue on appeal that their IQ level while they were intoxicated was relevant to the elements of intent and premeditation. Dr. Peter Young testified for the defense that according to the results of IQ testing, Dellinger had an IQ level of 72 in March of 1995 and Sutton had an IQ level of 76 in November of 1993. Dr. Young then opined that Appellants' use of alcohol could have reduced their IQ level to below 70 at the time that Griffin was killed. On cross-examination, Dr. Young admitted that the authorities upon which he based his opinion actually contradicted his opinion. Dr. Young also admitted that there was no recognized statistical data that could be used to adjust Appellants' IQ levels while they were functioning in an intoxicated state. Dr. Eugene Cord testified for the State that the results of an IQ test would be invalid if the test had been given to an intoxicated person. Dr. Cord also testified that while intoxication would impair performance, it would not affect IQ level. Dr. Cord testified that he was unaware of any statistical data that could be used to adjust an individual's IQ level while in an intoxicated state. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court found that there was no proof that alcohol use had any effect on IQ level. The trial court also found that it would be useless to test Appellants for IQ level while they were intoxicated because there was no recognized test for doing so. Moreover, the trial court found that Appellants had also failed to prove that they had deficits in adaptive behavior or that they had mental retardation that was manifested during the developmental period or by age eighteen. We conclude that the evidence in the record does not preponderate against the trial court's findings that alcohol use does not effect IQ level and that there is no recognized test for determining the IQ level of an intoxicated person. Thus, testing Appellants for IQ level while they were intoxicated would have been an exercise in futility. In addition, the trial court's refusal to order the IQ tests did not prevent Appellants from showing that they did not have the required mental state for first degree murder because they were intoxicated at the time of the offense. Indeed, there was a great deal of evidence that Appellants had been drinking shortly before Griffin was killed and the trial court instructed the jury that [i]f you find that [Appellants] were intoxicated to the extent that they could not have possessed the required culpable mental state, then they cannot be guilty of the offense charged. In short, the trial court did not err when it refused to order that Appellants be tested for IQ levels while they were intoxicated. This issue has no merit.