why do only some of the Bill of Rights apply to the states but not all? I thought the bill of rights was for the people, regardless of federal or state arenas

Question

why do only some of the Bill of Rights apply to the states but not all? I thought the bill of rights was for the people, regardless of federal or state arenas

In: 2

Answer 1

Originally, the Bill of Rights didn’t apply to the states at all. This changed with the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the development of what is called the Incorporation Doctrine. The Supreme Court “incorporated” each right against the state and local governments as those governments were sued over them.

This process has taken decades because the courts can’t rule on whether (x) applies to the states unless a state gets sued over (x). The Third Amendment, for example, still isn’t fully incorporated.