Selective Incorporation Examples

The originally Bill of Rights protected the rights of citizens from infringement by the federal government, but made no mention of the states. The Fourteen Amendment, adopted shortly after the Civil War, protected citizenship and individual rights from infringement by state governments. Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause, the United States Supreme Court began to apply the most important rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights against the states. This process began in the early 1900s and is known as the doctrine of selective incorporation. Duncan versus Louisiana was the landmark case in which the court incorporated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial against the states.

In 1787 the United States’ constitution was written, two years later the Bill of Rights was added. The Bill of Rights consists of ten amendments which were designed based on the American ideals to ensure that the federal government is not too powerful, and that it would protect the rights of the people or of the state. One of the most important amendments in the Bill of Rights is the sixth amendment, which gives the people the right to enjoy a speedy trial when accused, and it allows the accused person to know the cause of the accusation and who his accuser is. It clearly represents some of the American ideals such as: democracy, opportunity, and equality.

The Sixth Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791. It guarantees rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts and it was ruled that these rights are fundamental and important. The Sixth Amendment gives the accused the right to speedy and public trial by the impartial jury. The accused has the right to be informed of the nature and reason of accusation and also be confronted with the witness against him as well as obtaining witness in his favor. In this research paper I will provide a thorough analysis of these above rights and give some history of the 6th Amendment.

("The 6th Amendment.") The Amendment offers protection especially for citizens who are in judicial proceedings.("Why Do We Have The Sixth Amendment? - Liberty First Network.") The amendment also protects accused people from unfair investigation and trials. The Sixth Amendment is for the people to protect themselves before and in court. I believe that the amendment protects people from racism and unjust trials. This amendment gives the accused a chance to prove their innocence and explain their case. In “The Sixth Amendment." A Kids' Guide to America's Bill of Rights it is said that “The Sixth Amendment is meant as a step toward making sure that the United States offers "liberty and justice for all," not just liberty and justices for the wealthy." ("The Sixth Amendment." A Kids' Guide to America's Bill of Rights) The amendment gives all accused people a fair chance in court and establishes the basis of the modern court

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is perhaps the most sweeping and has likely impacted the general jurisprudence of the Supreme Court the most of any other amendment. This is because, where all other right-protecting amendments protect something specific, the fourteenth amendment was designed to ensure that states guaranteed due process rights, applied the law equally, and protected the “privileges [and] immunities of citizens of the United States.”

Since the Constitution is supreme over all other, if a court decision does not please Congress, ⅔ of Congress can vote to adopt a proposed amendment. The amendment after ¾ of state legislators or ¾ of a convention ratify it. An amendment holds more value than any court decision and amendments can always be used to challenge a court decision.

Rules: The Supreme Court uses the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in rendering its decision.

1. The concept of selective incorporation according to We the People, was a “progression by which different securities in the Bill of Rights were incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1937 the “courts were still unwilling to defend civil freedoms beyond the First Amendment. The first case that established selective incorporation was Palko v. Connecticut. The courts determined that “the provisions of the Bill of Rights should be selectively combined and useful as a constraint on the states by the Fourteenth Amendment “(Ginsberg et al. 117). Gideon v. Wainwright “established the right to counsel during criminal courts”. The Miranda v. Arizona likewise established the right to counsel and remain silent” The incorporation that gained a lot of nationwide attention is McDonald v. Chicago where the “right to bear arms was granted” (Ginsberg et al. 118). This incorporation has paved the way for several national cities to pass gun laws.

Although the language is simple it has caused lots of controversy over its interpretation. Beginning with the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Supreme Court has decided cases involving the Fourteenth Amendment by being selective about how to apply the most minimal rights needed to decide each case, and never really declaring that the Fourteenth Amendment protects all rights recognized by the Constitution. This has led to the adoption of selective incorporation and unremunerated rights.

The 5th amendment has had many cases that it has dealt with throughout the years. The two cases I have chosen are Blockburger v. United States and Miranda v. Arizona. These two cases have been landmark cases in our history for the 5th amendment. Blockburger v. United States dealt with a defendant that was charged with violations of the Harrison Narcotics Act. The defendant had been indicted on 5 separate accounts but they dealt with the sale of morphine to the same customer. The defendant was charge with the 2nd,3rd and 5th counts. He was sentenced to 5 year and 2,000 dollars to each of the counts, but the defendant came up with a few theories for his defense. He said that the two

It was not until after the Civil War that the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments were enacted and began protecting individuals against the states. The Fourteenth Amendment has been the principal means by which this protection has been accomplished. It reads, in part, “No State shall...deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The Supreme Court had interpreted this guarantee of liberty to embrace the fundamental liberties in the Bill of Rights, meaning that the state governments must observe and protect them to the same extent as the federal government this is also known called incorporation. The amendments in the Bill of Rights are said to be incorporated against the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. There has been an ongoing debate on the Supreme Court about the extent of incorporation, and whether the entire Bill of Rights, or only some of it’s guarantees, should be incorporated against the states.

The Fifth Amendment in US constitution was proposed by Congressman James Madison on June 8, 1789 and was passed on September 25, 1789. It was later ratified by Congress on December 15, 1791 as “Bill of Rights”. It provides a number of rights which are relevant to both Civil and Criminal legal proceedings. In Criminal cases, it provides a right to Grand Jury. It forbids “double jeopardy” and also protects against self-incrimination. In Civil cases, it requires the “due process of law” to be part of proceedings which denies a citizen “life, liberty or property”. At the same time it requires government to

The Supreme Court in 1932 began to define the right to counsel and years later it applied it to the Sixth Amendment right to

The balance between the right of an individual to have a fair trial and the right of the collective to be able to seek justice. To name a few, an individual possesses the rights of trial by jury, right to legal counsel, and the right to a public and speedy trial. On the other hand the collective has the right to seek justice against an accused. In no way does the rights given to the accused make it so that the collective can not seek justice against the individual. One case that has further defined the rights of the accused is is Miranda v. Arizona, 1966. In this case the Supreme Court held that the fifth amendment is available in all settings including criminal cases. This case gave birth to the set of rights known as the Miranda Rights which is recited to an individual in the case that said person is arrested. The Miranda

The sixth amendment is the second longest amendment of the ten original amendments. The Bill of Rights was written in 1789. It is a list of rights that are guaranteed to all U.S. citizens that cannot be taken away. James Madison came up with and proposed the idea of the Bill of Rights. Of the twelve original amendments that were proposed to the states, 10 of them became amendments, although one of the rejected amendments became the 27th amendment years later. 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights were made. The Bill of Rights is one of the most importants elements in law in the United States of America. The sixth amendment is the best amendment because it ensures citizens a speedy trial, right to a jury, and a right to a lawyer.