Benton v. Maryland was a Supreme Court decision that included the Fourteenth Amendment, often referred to as the Incorporation Doctrine. The case included a man named John Benton, and in 1965, Benton was in a state court of Maryland, facing trial for burglary and larceny. The State Court established that he was “innocent of larceny” (Benton v. Maryland - Significance) but guilty if burglary. Because of this, Benton was convicted and sentenced …show more content…
Maryland - Significance). He was adamant on the fact that “double jeopardy barred persecution on the larceny count because the first jury had acquitted him of that offense” (Benton v. State). Despite his claims, the Court of Special Appeals ruled against it and denied certiorari. Ultimately and after much deliberation, the Supreme Court reviewed the case and decided that the Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy had, indeed, been infringed …show more content…
Firstly, the Incorporation Doctrine is the concept that makes most provisions of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states and it is part of the Fourteenth Amendment. Initially, the Supreme Court only held parts of the Amendments to be binding on states. This, in turn, has been a very controversial topic throughout the years but in modern times, the Bill of Rights protects everyone from both the states and the national government. This came to be because the police powers of the states were unrestraint and “state laws [were] beyond the review of the Supreme court” (Incorporation Doctrine). With this in mind, the “selective process’ was born and it allowed provisions to be applicable to the states as