| Benton V. Maryland |
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| 1969 in law | |
| united states supreme court cases | |
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John Dalmer Benton was tried on charges of Larceny and Burglary . He was acquitted of larceny but found guilty on the burglary count. As a result, Benton was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Shortly after Benton's conviction, the Maryland Court Of Appeals ruled, in ''Schowgurow v. State'', that the portion of the Maryland Constitution which had required all jurors to swear their belief in the existence of God was itself unconstitutional. Since the jurors in Benton's case had been selected under the unconstitutional provision, he was given the option of demanding a new trial. Benton did in fact choose to undergo a new trial, but at the second trial, the state again charged Benton with larceny in spite of the fact that he had been acquitted of larceny in the first trial. The second trial concluded with Benton being found guilty on both burglary and larceny. The Supreme Court ruled that the second trial did indeed constitute Double Jeopardy , and, as such, overturned the larceny conviction. Justice Thurgood Marshall , writing for the majority, wrote:
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