When first adopted, the Bill of Rights only limited the power of the federal government, but not state governments. This remained the case for decades after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Beginning in the 1880s, the Supreme Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause to require states to honor certain protections in the Bill of Rights. This interpretation is known as incorporation. Over time, the Court has applied most of the Bill of Rights to the states. Notable exceptions involve specific aspects of court procedure, such as the requirement for indictment by a grand jury (part of the Fifth Amendment) and the rule against direct reexamination of a judgment by an appellate court (part of the Seventh Amendment).
[Last reviewed in August of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]