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Selective Incorporation Research Paper

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Manalo, Paelo
POLS155 M/W (9:30-10:45)
September 20, 2014
RA #2 Nationalizing Civil Liberties (Selective Incorporation) The concept of selective incorporation has played a huge role over the debate of the powers of a state or local government against the federal government. According to Tom Streissguth, "... it refers to how the rights outlined in the Constitution apply to the states -- and the requirement that state laws and constitutions must observe these rights" in his article "The Definition of Selective Incorporation" (Streissguth). After the Civil War, the idea of selective incorporation came with the passing of the Fourteenth Amendment. The legislature laid down significant new rights for the citizens of the United States; these rights included due process and equal protection. This amendment also touched upon and strengthened the first ten amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. …show more content…

Arizona (1966) is an example of a Supreme Court case dealing with selective incorporation. According to United State Courts' article, Miranda v. Arizona (1966), "Ernesto Miranda, a Mexican immigrant living in Phoenix, Arizona, was identified in a police lineup by a woman who accused him of kidnapping and raping her... The case went to trial in an Arizona state court and the prosecutor used the confession as evidence against Miranda, who was convicted and sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison" (uscourts.gov). Little did the public know that when Miranda was detained, he was interrogated for two long hours. The police interrogated him until he confessed to the crimes. When the interrogation was happening, the police never spoke to him about his fifth and sixth amendment. He was not protected against self-incrimination nor was he given the chance to speak to an attorney until the state court

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