Question

Frank Palko thought the Fifth Amendment ban on double jeopardy applied to his case because

Answer 1

Frank Palko was a man who was accused of a robbing a store and shooting and killing two police officers. He was charged for first-degree murder but the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. Because of that, the Connecticut Supreme Court of Error reversed the trial and ordered a new one.

Palko’s attorney objected the retrial, claiming that it violated the Fifth Amendment that prohibited double jeopardy and stated that it applied to his case because it did apply to the states.

The Supreme Court decided that the Bill of Rights does not apply automatically to the states, the Court said that states must obey those parts of the Bill of Rights that are fundamental and The Double Jeopardy Clause was not fundamental and that Palko’s rights were respected because he got a retrial and the change to correct the error of the first trial.

This precedent was overturned in 1969 when the Supreme Court decided that the Due Process Clause requires the states to obey most of the Bill of Rights.

Answer 2

Frank palko thought the Fifth Amendment ban on double jeopardy applied to his case because " he was tried twice for the same crime ", which is outlawed by the Constitution .