Omar Bennett
The Fourteenth Amendment provides for selective incorporation, which is the process by which the Supreme Court ensures that the rights of citizens are not violated by state laws or procedures. The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause allows for the case-by-case application of the Bill of Rights to the states, limiting state regulations that may infringe on civil rights and liberties. The Supreme Court has used selective incorporation to protect citizens from state infringements on Constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and protection from self-incrimination. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment also plays a role in selective incorporation, ensuring that states do not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Selective Incorporation |
| Other Names | Incorporation Doctrine |
| Type | Legal/Constitutional Law Principle |
| Purpose | To ensure that the rights of the people are not violated by state laws or procedures |
| Application | Case-by-case |
| Basis | Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause |
| First Used | 1925 |
| Notable Cases | Gitlow v. New York (1925), Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940), Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Palko v. Connecticut (1937) |
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What You'll Learn
The Supreme Court's role in selective incorporation
The Supreme Court's use of selective incorporation began in 1925, with the Gitlow v. New York case, which extended First Amendment protections for free speech to the state level. The Court's role in this case was to protect citizens' freedom of speech from state infringements.
The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 during Reconstruction, extended equal protection and due process to all persons in the United States. This amendment played a crucial role in shaping the Supreme Court's approach to selective incorporation. Citizens began to seek the Supreme Court's review of state laws and procedures that they believed infringed on their rights under the Bill of Rights.
The Supreme Court's interpretation of the law, known as selective incorporation, applies the Bill of Rights to state laws through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This interpretation ensures that the Bill of Rights' provisions apply in every state, even though the Bill of Rights initially only applied to the federal government.
The Supreme Court has used selective incorporation in numerous cases to apply certain protections in the Bill of Rights to state criminal procedures. For example, in Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Court held that law enforcement must advise individuals in custody of their right to remain silent, which is a protection under the Fifth Amendment.
The Supreme Court has also incorporated the Second Amendment right to bear and keep arms across states, as seen in McDonald v. Chicago (2010). Additionally, the Court has applied the First Amendment's freedom of speech, press, and religion to the states.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court's role in selective incorporation has been pivotal in ensuring that citizens' rights are protected from state infringements. Through a case-by-case approach, the Court has applied the Bill of Rights' provisions to state laws, thereby limiting state power and safeguarding individual liberties.
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The Fourteenth Amendment
Through the doctrine of selective incorporation, the Supreme Court has ensured that most provisions of the Bill of Rights apply to the states. This interpretation holds that the Bill of Rights imposes the same substantive limitations on both the states and the federal government. As a result, any state that denies its residents these rights violates its duty to provide "equal protection of the laws" guaranteed to all citizens.
While the Fourteenth Amendment has been central to selective incorporation, there is ongoing debate about the extent to which it should incorporate substantive rights. Some Supreme Court justices have advocated for total incorporation, applying the entire Bill of Rights to the states. In contrast, others have supported selective incorporation, arguing that incorporating all protections would overly burden the states.
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The Bill of Rights
When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791, its protections only applied to the federal government, not the state governments. This was because, during the signing of the Constitution, every state in the negotiation had different levels of concern regarding a powerful federal government. The preamble to the Bill of Rights highlights the importance of limiting overreach by the newly created government.
However, after the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, the Supreme Court favoured the process of selective incorporation. This represents a limiting of state power by federal oversight. Through selective incorporation, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states may not pass laws restricting rights protected in the Constitution. The purpose of this policy is to protect American citizens from laws and procedures developed at the state level, which could potentially infringe upon their rights.
Selective incorporation is the case-by-case application of the Bill of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. It is used to limit state regulations that may infringe on civil rights and liberties. The Supreme Court has held that if a provision of the Bill of Rights is incorporated against the states, the provision imposes the same substantive limitations on the states and the federal government.
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The case-by-case basis of selective incorporation
The Supreme Court adopted the selective incorporation doctrine in the 1937 case of Palko v. Connecticut, which rejected total incorporation and established a selective incorporation definition and guidelines for applying it. The "selective" part comes from the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court incorporates these rights on a case-by-case basis. It is used to limit state regulations that may infringe on civil rights and liberties.
The Bill of Rights, which is another name for the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, establishes many fundamental rights, including freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to a jury trial, and the right to bear arms. The Bill of Rights also protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and the privilege against self-incrimination. When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791, its protections only applied to the federal government, not state governments.
Through selective incorporation, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states may not pass laws restricting rights protected in the Constitution. The purpose of this policy is to protect American citizens from laws and procedures developed at the state level that could potentially infringe upon their rights. For example, in Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court held that law enforcement must advise persons in custody of their right to remain silent.
The selective incorporation interpretation applies only some of these provisions and does so on a case-by-case basis. The "total incorporation" interpretation, on the other hand, would apply all the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states, arguing for the nationalization or federalization of the Bill of Rights.
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The expansion of rights
When the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments to the Constitution, were added in 1791, they were designed to protect people from the federal government, not the states. This changed with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which extended equal protection and due process to all persons in the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment also played a key role in incorporating rights, defending them at the state level.
The Supreme Court has used selective incorporation to protect people from state infringements on Constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to remain silent. For example, in Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court held that law enforcement must advise persons in custody of their right to remain silent, as this protection from self-incrimination is “essential” to the criminal justice system.
The Supreme Court has also incorporated certain parts of certain amendments, rather than entire amendments at once, through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This selective incorporation interpretation applies only some provisions of the Bill of Rights on a case-by-case basis. The Court has held that if a provision of the Bill of Rights is incorporated against the states, it imposes the same substantive limitations on the states and the federal government.
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Frequently asked questions
Selective incorporation is the process where the Supreme Court applies certain parts of the Bill of Rights to state laws, rather than applying an entire amendment at once.
The Fourteenth Amendment provides for selective incorporation through its Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause.
The purpose of selective incorporation is to limit state power and prevent states from enacting laws that violate the fundamental rights of American citizens.
Through selective incorporation, the Supreme Court has ruled that states may not pass laws restricting rights protected in the Constitution, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms.
