What is selective incorporation?

• A. The process by which the Supreme Court has applied most Bill of Rights protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment
• B. The process by which states incorporate federal funds into budgets
• C. The idea that only selective clauses apply
• D. The method by which Congress selects justices

Answer: (A)

Selective incorporation is the process by which the Supreme Court has applied most protections in the Bill of Rights to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. This means that, over time, the Court has ruled that fundamental federal liberties bind state and local governments as well as the federal government. The approach happens gradually, on a case-by-case basis, rather than all at once, which is why it’s described as selective. The Fourteenth Amendment provides the vehicle for nationalizing these civil liberties, so protections like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, among others, now restrict state action in many cases. Not every right has been incorporated, and some protections remain nonincorporated or only partially applied, which is part of why the doctrine is described as selective and ongoing.

This concept is not about budgeting or about how Congress selects justices, and it isn’t about applying only certain clauses in a blanket way. It specifically concerns how the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights become protections against state action through the Fourteenth Amendment.