Question

The process of the Supreme Court applying the Bill of Rights to the governments of the states is called

a. Corporation
b. Application
c. Judicial Review
d. Incorporation
e. Ratification

Answer 1

The process of applying the Bill of Rights to state governments through Supreme Court rulings is called selective incorporation, ensuring fundamental liberties are protected across all states.

Step-by-step explanation:

The process by which the Supreme Court applies the Bill of Rights to the state governments is known as selective incorporation. Selective incorporation began in 1897 and entails a series of Supreme Court decisions that determined various provisions of the Bill of Rights must be upheld by the states as fundamental liberties, regardless of whether state constitutions and laws protect them. This was done through the Fourteenth Amendment to ensure that individuals have the same civil liberties across all states.

Notable Supreme Court cases such as McDonald v. Chicago expanded the application of the Second Amendment to the states, while Near v. Minnesota marked the incorporation of free speech protection under the First Amendment against state action. Over time, most of the protections of the Bill of Rights were incorporated against the states through this judicial process.