''Palko v. Connecticut'', 302 U.S. 319 (1937), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case concerning the
incorporation of the
Fifth Amendment protection against
double jeopardy
In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...
.
Background
In 1935, Frank Palko, a
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
resident, broke into a local music store and stole a phonograph, proceeded to flee on foot, and, when cornered by
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education ...
, shot and killed two police officers and made his escape. He was captured a month later.
Palko had been charged with
first-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...
but was instead convicted of the lesser offense of
second-degree murder and was given a sentence of life imprisonment. Prosecutors appealed per
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
law and won a new trial in which Palko was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
. Palko then appealed, arguing that the
Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy applied to state governments through the
Due Process Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment. The Court had previously held, in the
Slaughterhouse cases, that the protections of the
Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...
should not be applied to the states under the
Privileges or Immunities clause
The Privileges or Immunities Clause is Amendment XIV, Section 1, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
Along with the rest of the Fourteenth Amendment, this clause became part of the Constitution on July 9, 1868.
Text of the clause
The cl ...
, but Palko held that since the infringed right fell under a due process protection, Connecticut still acted in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Decision
In an opinion by Justice
Benjamin Cardozo
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's th ...
, the Court held that the Due Process Clause protected only those rights that were "of the very essence of a scheme of ordered liberty" and that the court should therefore incorporate the Bill of Rights onto the states gradually, as
justiciable
Justiciability concerns the limits upon legal issues over which a court can exercise its judicial authority. It includes, but is not limited to, the legal concept of standing, which is used to determine if the party bringing the suit is a party ...
violations arose, based on whether the infringed right met that test.
Applying the subjective case-by-case approach (known as
selective incorporation), the Court upheld Palko's conviction on the basis that the double jeopardy appeal was not "essential to a fundamental scheme of ordered liberty." The case was decided by an 8–1 vote. Justice
Pierce Butler Pierce or Piers Butler may refer to:
*Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (c. 1467 – 26 August 1539), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland
*Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye (1652–1740), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland
* P ...
was the lone dissenter, but he did not author a dissenting opinion.
Palko was executed in Connecticut's electric chair on April 12, 1938.
Later developments
The Court eventually reversed course and overruled ''Palko'' by incorporating the protection against double jeopardy with its ruling in ''
Benton v. Maryland
''Benton v. Maryland'', 395 U.S. 784 (1969), is a Supreme Court of the United States decision concerning double jeopardy. ''Benton'' ruled that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fifth Amendment In ...
''.
[.]
See also
*
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 302
This is a list of cases reported in volume 302 of '' United States Reports'', decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1937 and 1938.
Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 302 U.S.
The Supreme Court is establ ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Fifth Amendment crimpro, jeopardy, state=expanded
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court
United States Double Jeopardy Clause case law
Incorporation case law
1937 in United States case law
1937 in Connecticut
Legal history of Connecticut
Overruled United States Supreme Court decisions