Selective incorporation is the process by which most of the Bill of Rights protections are applied to the states through which amendment?

• A. First Amendment
• B. Fourth Amendment
• C. Fourteenth Amendment
• D. Sixth Amendment

Answer: (C)

Selective incorporation uses the Fourteenth Amendment to extend most protections in the Bill of Rights to state governments. The key is the Due Process Clause of that amendment, which the Supreme Court has interpreted to guarantee individuals protection from state action just as federal action is protected. Over time, many rights—from free speech to protection against unreasonable searches—have been applied to the states through this mechanism, one right at a time as cases arise. The other amendments contain those protections, but the process by which states are bound to them is provided by the Fourteenth Amendment, not by the First, Fourth, or Sixth Amendments themselves.