 A decade after Hovey , the Supreme Court announced its first rule for how the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment would be applied . In Twining v. New Jersey ( 1908 ) , the Court held that " it is possible that some of the personal rights safeguarded by the first eight amendments against National action may also be safeguarded against state action , because a denial of them would be a denial of due process of law " . This understanding of the meaning of " due process " opened up the possibility that the Bill of Rights could be applied to the states . Specifically , the Court said in Twining that the test was whether the right was embedded in " the very idea of free government " . This test endorsed a " selective incorporation " approach , meaning one that would evaluate whether to apply a right to the states on a case @-@ by @-@ case basis . 
