due process

noun

1

: a course of formal proceedings (such as legal proceedings) carried out regularly and in accordance with established rules and principles

called also procedural due process

2

: a judicial requirement that enacted laws may not contain provisions that result in the unfair, arbitrary, or unreasonable treatment of an individual

called also substantive due process

Examples of due process in a Sentence

Due process requires that evidence not be admitted when it is obtained through illegal methods.

Recent Examples on the Web

The law allows the government to detain and deport people without due process, like court hearings or asylum interviews. —Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025

President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the U.S. to deport noncitizens without due process, to carry out the deportations. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025

The move has ignited widespread alarm over the extent of Trump’s executive authority and due process violations. —Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 19 Mar. 2025

Roberts issued the unusual statement Tuesday, hours after Trump called for Boasberg to be impeached over his handling of a case surrounding the White House’s effort to invoke an arcane law from 1798 to deport alleged hundreds of Venezuelan gang members without due process. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for due process

• abs
• acquiesce
• ancestress
• authoress
• coalesce
• decompress
• dispossess
• faithfulness
• letterpress
• mayoress
• murderess
• nonetheless

Legal Definition

due process

noun

1

: a course of formal proceedings (as judicial proceedings) carried out regularly, fairly, and in accordance with established rules and principles

called also procedural due process

2

: a requirement that laws and regulations must be related to a legitimate government interest (as crime prevention) and may not contain provisions that result in the unfair or arbitrary treatment of an individual

called also substantive due process

Note: The guarantee of due process is found in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which states “no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” and in the Fourteenth Amendment, which states “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The boundaries of due process are not fixed and are the subject of endless judicial interpretation and decision-making. Fundamental to procedural due process is adequate notice prior to the government's deprivation of one's life, liberty, or property, and an opportunity to be heard and defend one's rights to life, liberty, or property. Substantive due process is a limit on the government's power to enact laws or regulations that affect one's life, liberty, or property rights. It is a safeguard from governmental action that is not related to any legitimate government interest or that is unfair, irrational, or arbitrary in its furtherance of a government interest. The requirement of due process applies to agency actions.

3

: the right to due process

acts that violated due process