Landmark Supreme Court cases: Difference between revisions

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== Fourteenth Amendment "Incorporation Cases" ==
== Fourteenth Amendment "Incorporation Cases" ==
=== Incorporation meaning ===
* "Incorporation" refers to application of the rights and protections of the Bill of Rights to state law
* "Incorporation" refers to application of the rights and protections of the Bill of Rights to state law
** in- = into + corp = body + -tion (makes a noun)
** in- = into + corp = body + -tion (makes a noun)
** = "put into the body"  
** = "put into the body"
* the anti-Federalists (viz. Brutus) argued that the Constitution did not protect the rights of the citizens
* the anti-Federalists (viz. Brutus) argued that the Constitution did not protect the rights of the citizens
** thus the agreement was made that upon adoption of the Constitution it would be amended to include certain protections
** thus the agreement was made that upon adoption of the Constitution it would be amended to include certain protections
** the Bill of Rights (BOR) added these protections by limiting or prohibiting certain actions by the new federal government
** the Bill of Rights (BOR) added these protections by limiting or prohibiting certain actions by the new federal government
*** thus the language of the BOR, "''Congress shall make no law...''" or "...''shall not be violated''"  
*** thus the language of the BOR, "''Congress shall make no law...''" or "...''shall not be violated''"
** it was understood by all the Founders that, except for where explicitly stated in the Constitution regarding the states, the Constitution and its amendments applied to the federal and not to the state governments
** it was understood by all the Founders that, except for where explicitly stated in the Constitution regarding the states, the Constitution and its amendments applied to the federal and not to the state governments
* in 1833, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill or Rights does not apply to the states
** ''Barron v. Baltimore'' (1833)
* following the Civil War, the Constitution was amended three times in order to  
* following the Civil War, the Constitution was amended three times in order to  
*# abolish slavery (13th Amendment)
*# abolish slavery (13th Amendment)
*# provide to the former slaves citizenship and equal protection under the laws (14th Amendment)
*# provide to the former slaves citizenship and equal protection under the laws (14th amendment)
*## and also to make arrangements for re-entry of rebellious states back into the Union  
*## and also to make arrangements for re-entry of rebellious states back into the Union
*# secure the vote of former male slaves (15th Amendment)
*# secure the vote of former male slaves (15th amendment)
* the Fourteenth amendment, then, explicitly applied to the federal and all state governments
 
=== Fourteenth amendment ===
* the '''Fourteenth amendment''' explicitly applied to the federal and all state governments
** given this national aspect, any case reviewed by the Courts regarding the 13-15th amendments was applicable to the states
** given this national aspect, any case reviewed by the Courts regarding the 13-15th amendments was applicable to the states
** it was through the 14th amendment's "due process" and "equal protection" clauses that, over time, the Courts applied other rights and protections from the BOR to the states, such as
** it was through the 14th amendment's "due process" and "equal protection" clauses that, over time, the Courts applied other rights and protections from the BOR to the states, such as
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**** note that the 14th amendment "due process" clause explicitly repeats the 5th amendment language
**** note that the 14th amendment "due process" clause explicitly repeats the 5th amendment language
* thus Court cases that apply the BOR protections to state laws are called "incorporation cases"
* thus Court cases that apply the BOR protections to state laws are called "incorporation cases"
=== Select list of Landmark incorporation cases ===
* see this Wikipedia article that lists incorporation cases per each of the Bill of Rights:[[wikipedia:Incorporation_of_the_Bill_of_Rights#Specific_amendments|Incorporation of the Bill of Rights]]


== 14th Amendment "privileges or immunities," "due process" & "equal protection" clauses ==
== 14th Amendment "privileges or immunities," "due process" & "equal protection" clauses ==