Criminal Procedure keyed to Weinreb
Palko v. Connecticut
Facts
Defendant was indicted for murder in the first degree. The jury returned a conviction of murder in the second degree, for which he received a life sentence. Pursuant to state law, the State of Connecticut appealed and the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial. This court found harmful error to the state as a result of the exclusion of testimony as to a confession by the defendant, the exclusion of cross-examination testimony to impeach the defendant, and faulty jury instructions as to the difference between first and second degree murder. They ordered a second trial at which the jury sentenced the defendant to death. The defendant was granted certiorari to have the second conviction overturned.
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