Constitutional Law
Incorporation Doctrine
Definition
The incorporation doctrine is the process by which the Supreme Court has applied provisions of the Bill of Rights — originally binding only on the federal government — to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Selective incorporation, which the Court has adopted, evaluates each right individually to determine whether it is fundamental to the American scheme of ordered liberty. Nearly all Bill of Rights protections have now been incorporated.
Example
The Second Amendment right to bear arms originally applied only to the federal government. Through incorporation, it now applies equally to state and local governments.