The Palko decision introduced which constitutional concept?

• A. Formal incorporation
• B. Fundamental liberties are protected from states; selective incorporation begins
• C. Complete incorporation of all rights
• D. States possess sovereign immunity

Answer: (B)

The main idea is selective incorporation. In Palko v. Connecticut, the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection extends to the states only for rights that are fundamental to liberty, and that this protection would be applied to the states on a case-by-case basis rather than all at once. Palko also suggested that the protection against double jeopardy wasn’t a fundamental right requiring incorporation, which opened the door to gradually applying other fundamental rights to the states over time. This starts the process of selective incorporation, rather than blanket or complete incorporation of all rights. The other possibilities describe blanket incorporation or unrelated concepts (like sovereign immunity), which aren’t what Palko established.