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

After first finding that the high court has jurisdiction to review the Oklahoma court's decision, Sotomayor wrote that the prosecution's failure to correct testimony of their key witness during the trial violated Glossip's right to due process, entitling him to a new trial. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2025

The National Urban League, the National Fair Housing Alliance and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago contend the administration is violating their rights to free speech and due process by engaging in intentional discrimination, according to the lawsuit filed by Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal. —Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025

The lawsuit—titled National Urban League v. Trump—alleges that the Trump Administration is infringing on the organizations’ right to free speech and due process by forcing said organizations to adopt the Trump Administration’s view regarding DEI. —Solcyré Burga, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025

But a federal judge, appointed by Trump, issued a temporary restraining order to the White House to restore the hard pass, ruling that Acosta’s right to due process had been violated. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 14 Feb. 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