OK, this is the simple and quick version. When the Bill of Rights was enacted, it applied only to the federal government. One thing people don't realize is that the Bill of Rights doesn't apply to people, but only to governments. So I as an individual have no obligation to honor your First Amendment rights, for instance. (Although there are caveats, but there always are, trust me.<g>)But a court cannot enforce a statute, or a common law, that violates the Bill of Rights or the Constitution.
After the Fourteenth Amendment was enacted (1865? anyway, right after the Civil War), even then for a long time the United States Supreme Court never held that the Bill of Rights applied to the states.
Then some "activist" justices started to "incorporate" the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment - this really got going in the 20th Century. This is a very contentious subject, as you might expect - I will try to find a few web sites on the history of incorporation of the Bill of Rights, either unbiased, or if not, from several perspectives. This is why the John Birch Society wanted to "Impeach Earl Warren," in case you were wondering.<g> |
