Also known as: due process guarantees · due process · due process clause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional command that government may not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without fair procedures. It also protects certain fundamental rights from arbitrary infringement by the state.
Daniel Diaz faced federal charges for a serious offense. Prosecutors sought to proceed without presenting the case to a grand jury. The court required indictment because the due process guarantee demands that step before holding a person to answer for an infamous crime.
Doris Duffy and her partner of a different race applied for a marriage license in their home state. Officials denied the application under a statute banning interracial unions. The couple prevailed because the due process guarantee protects the fundamental right to marry the person of one's choice.
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Dustin Donovan was committed to a state institution without any hearing or opportunity to contest the action. State officials claimed broad authority over persons within their borders. The court held the commitment violated the due process guarantee because the state must provide fair procedures before depriving a person of liberty.
Darrell Duncan was convicted of a nonviolent offense and faced mandatory sterilization under state law. The state argued the measure served public welfare goals. The court struck down the statute because the due process guarantee protects the fundamental right to procreate from such coercive state action.
Destiny Davis lived with her nonmarital child and the child's father, Dylan Duffy. After Destiny's death, state officials removed the child from Dylan's care without any hearing. The court ruled that the due process guarantee protects the established parental relationship and requires a fair process before severing it.
Davenport Pharmaceuticals operated schools for employees' children that were segregated by race. Families challenged the separation under the due process guarantee. The court held that state-mandated segregation in public education deprives children of equal educational opportunity.
Yes. The Fifth Amendment binds the federal government while the Fourteenth Amendment extends the same protection against state action. Both clauses prohibit deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
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A right is fundamental when it is deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Marriage, procreation, and parental custody are examples recognized by the Supreme Court.
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The two clauses often overlap. A law that infringes a fundamental right or employs an invidious classification may violate both substantive due process and equal protection. Courts apply strict scrutiny to such measures.
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…her pregnancy. Appellant would discover this right in the concept of personal "liberty" embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause; or in personal, marital, familial, and sexual privacy said to be protected by the Bill of Rights or its penumbras, see Griswold v. Connecticut , 381 U.S. 479 (1965); Eisenstadt v.…