Discussion Post (Essay Sample)

1. The due process clause in the Bill of Rights 5th Amendment is almost identical to the 14th Amendment due process clause.  What is the difference between the due process clause in the 5th Amendment of the Bill of Rights and the due process clause in the 14th Amendment? Why did we need the due process clause in the 14th Amendment if it is already stated in the 5th Amendment? Although both the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Bill of Rights contains a due process clauses, they serve different purposes. The 5th Amendment applied to the federal government. It stipulates that the federal government cannot deprive life, liberty or property without the due process of the law. Conversely, the 14th Amendment extends this protection to the state governments. This amendment prevents the state government from depriving rights without following the due process of the law. The need for the 14th Amendment arose since the due process clause initially only applied to the federal government. 2. Break Section 1 of the 14th Amendment (Section 1 Only) up into four parts that state four different issues. List the four parts of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment in order of 1 to 4.   Section 1 of the 14th Amendment can be broken down into four parts: * Citizenship Clause * Due Process Clause * Equal Protection Clause * Privileges and Immunities Clause 3. What part of the 14th Amendment that you separated allows the Supreme Court to Selectively Incorporate certain fundamental portions (clauses) of the Bill of Rights to the States?  The Due Process Clause 4. Now look at the clause you chose in question #3.  What four words in the Clause you named above in question #3 imply fundamental rights listed in the Bill of Rights shall not be infringed upon by the States and make this clause apply to the States? The four words are “nor shall any State.” 5. List the steps of how Selective Incorporation works from an initial case involving a violation of a right to the Supreme Court's judicial Review and its utilisation of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply a fundamental right listed in the BOR to the States. (In other words, explain to me how it works from the initial violation all the way up to the Supreme Court making it the law of the land in all States! What were the steps in between to get the end result? (Hint: read one of the cases above from the beginning and follow it to see what steps it took to get to Incorporation or review the above video for some of the steps). It starts with the initial violation of a right by a state. After the violation, the case is brought to the state courts. In situations where the state courts do not offer a remedy for the violation, an appeal may be made to the federal courts. The federal courts could apply the selective incorporation of doctrine. Here, the federal court uses the 14th Amendment clause on Due Process. By use of the Due Process Clause, the federal court can incorporate the violated right. The Supreme Court ruling establishes a precedent. This precedent binds all states to respect the incorporated right. 6. As you can see from the list of cases above, some Amendments from the Bill of Rights have been partially incorporated into the States, while others have been fully incorporated by SCOTUS, utilising selective Incorporation via the 14th Amendment.  What (2) Amendments from the first EIGHT Bill of Ri...