Which doctrine enables the application of portions of the Bill of Rights to state governments?

• A. Selective Incorporation
• B. Civil Rights
• C. Due Process
• D. Equal Protection

Answer: (A)

Selective incorporation is the process by which most protections in the Bill of Rights were applied to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. Originally, the Bill of Rights constrained only the federal government. Over time, the Supreme Court used the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause to extend those protections to the states, but doing so gradually and on a case-by-case basis. That is why the doctrine is described as selective incorporation: rights are incorporated to the states selectively, not all at once. For example, protections against unreasonable searches and the right to counsel have been applied to state governments through this approach. Civil rights, due process, and equal protection refer to related constitutional ideas, but they are not the mechanism by which the Bill of Rights reaches state governments.