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 state requires that teachers be granted due process rights, also known as tenure, after a few years of teaching. —Michael J. Petrilli, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

Roberson’s attorneys have filed a request for a stay of execution with the US Supreme Court, arguing his due process rights were violated when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to consider additional evidence the inmate says would support his innocence claim. —Dakin Andone and Ashley Killough, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024

The Defenders of the Human Rights Center is an organization that promotes human rights and advocates for free and fair elections and the due process of law. —Sam Meredith, CNBC, 11 Oct. 2024

At oral arguments before the Supreme Court, lawyers for Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Glossip, both represented by former solicitors general, urged the justices to grant the defendant's bid for a new trial, arguing in part that his due process rights were violated. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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