Class 2: Structure of Constitutional Protection for Individual Rights: Application of the Bill of Rights to the States - Jan. 10

Question 1

What is the incorporation doctrine? (Q)

Answer 1

The incorporation doctrine is the doctrine through which certain substantive protections of the Constitution are applicable not only to the federal government, but also to the states.

The first eight amendments in the Bill of Rights generally bar the federal government from infringing upon individual rights. After the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court has held that certain provisions of those first eight amendments also apply to state governments under the Due Process Clause.

States may be sued directly under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment for the violation of any provision of the Bill of Rights that has been incorporated against the states. Congress also has the power to pass laws aimed at ensuring states do not violate incorporated provisions of the Bill of Rights under its enforcement authority in Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 2

What is total incorporation? (Q)

Answer 2

The total incorporation doctrine provides that all individual rights in the first eight amendments are protected from infringement by the states. This doctrine has never been the majority view of the Supreme Court.

Question 3

What is selective incorporation? (Q)

Answer 3

The selective incorporation doctrine provides that only certain individual rights in the first eight amendments are protected from infringement by the states.

Question 4

What was the ruling of the Slaughterhouse Cases (1872)?

Question 5

What was the ruling of Saenz v. Roe (1999)?

Question 6

What was the ruling of McDonald v. Chicago (2010)?

Question 7

What was the ruling of Timbs v. Indiana (2019)?

Question 8

What was the ruling of Ramos v. Louisiana (2022)?