The selective incorporation tactic brings together the various elements of total incorporation and fundamental rights in an altered form. Over the years, the method has been common in most Supreme Court cases, and it applies a selective, gradual and piecemeal strategy of incorporation (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010). The approach replaces the perception of having all the rights in the Bill of Rights being fused naturally in the 14th Amendment’s due process clause. However, the method applies the Bill of Rights as a guide in understanding the meaning of the due process. Through the incorporation doctrine, the first ten amendments are functional to the devolved governments. According to Wilson, DiIulio and Bose (2010), before the introduction of the Fourteenth Amendment, the first ten amendments were only functional to cases in the federal courts, but state courts were at liberty to assume similar laws. However the question of the fundamental rights that ought to govern the states is not very clear, but a few amendments do not apply to the states. All the states in the country are exempted from the third, fifth, seventh and eighth amendments (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010). Additionally, the second amendment which protects the right of bearing firearms may or may not relate to the states
Question 2
Over the years, the Supreme Court has decided on various landmark cases involving sexual discrimination, with the Reed v. Reed case of 1971, being among the most prominent. In the case, the Court held that gender discrimination is a violation of the 14th amendment (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010). Following the Reed v. Reed ruling as well as other related court cases, it is unlawful for the local government to come up with unlike ages at which women and men become adults legally. Also, women cannot be forced to take mandatory pregnancy leaves by their employers, barred from certain teams, and although women live longer than men, they are to receive retirement benefits equally. Some of the few instances where differences are allowed based on sex include where states are allowed to exempt widows from paying property tax, but the same cannot apply to widowers, and where the navy is allowed to promote men officers quicker than the women (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010). Additionally, single-gender schools are only permitted where the quality of education is similar, and the enrolment is voluntary.
Question 3
The American political parties are generally regarded as weaker when compared to those in European countries. Firstly, the European parties control admission to the ballot whereby the party leaders select the candidates, and hence primary elections are not held (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010). On the other hand, the American party leaders have no authority to select candidates, as they are chosen by the electorates during primary elections. Secondly, European countries enjoy a parliamentary system where the executive and legislative arms are unified, unlike in the United States where they are divided. The parliamentary system in Europe allows the powerful party to pick the government’s chief executive. In the parliamentary system, the leader of government uses that position to reward parliamentarians by appointing them as members of the cabinet, and this is used as a way of controlling congressional action (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010). Thirdly, the authority of political parties in the United States is decentralized due to the federal system of government, unlike in Europe where it is centralized. The most vital party decisions like those regarding public welfare, business regulation, land use and education are made at the state or local levels. As a result, the local party leaders in America are seen as more powerful than the national leaders, and this is a major source of party weakness (Wilson, DiIulio, " Bose, 2010).
Reference
Wilson, J. Q., DiIulio, J. J., " Bose, M. (2010). American government: Institutions and policies. Australia ; Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
