The Constitution
incorporation
The process by which most Bill of Rights protections were applied to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
In full
The Bill of Rights originally bound only the federal government. Beginning in the twentieth century, the Court incorporated its guarantees one at a time, asking whether each is fundamental to the American scheme of ordered liberty. Nearly all are now incorporated; the Third Amendment and the Fifth's grand jury requirement are the notable exceptions.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.