Due process

  • Due process is an abbreviated form of the phrase due process of law. We will examine the meaning of the expression due process, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.


    The term due process refers to the rights afforded a citizen through the law, guaranteeing fair treatment in legal proceedings. Due process encompasses regulations and procedures which are put in place to guarantee that a person’s legal rights are respected. The term due process was first used in the 1300s, and is related to a statute that was based on the Magna Carta. In the United States, due process of the law is mentioned in the Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.



    After reading the coverage of President Trump’s desire to do away with due process and trials for people caught after crossing into the U.S., a question comes to mind: Where in the Constitution does it say that the Sixth Amendment (right to trial by jury) applies only to citizens? (The Press Herald)

    Let’s skip over the weird punctuation and capitalization (again) and the irony of a president who invokes “due process” for someone close to him, but ignores it in the case of enemies or perceived enemies, and instead start by looking at the two words that make up “due process.” (The Columbia Journalism Review)

    It’s when a governmental entity disregards someone’s rights that due process’s associated requirements — fair notice and fair hearing — come into play. (The Washington Post)

    A Pennsylvania judge who sent 54 people to jail for failing to pay fines after holding a mass contempt trial violated the defendants’ due process rights, a state appeals court has ruled. (The Journal of the American Bar Association)

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