Rights of the Accused Lesson

Due process is the legal requirement that all states must respect the legal rights owed to citizens of the United States. Due process further balances the power of the supremacy clause (law of the land) and protects individual rights against the federal government. Due process has been interpreted as limiting such laws and legal proceedings so that judges may guarantee fairness, justice, and liberty for all individuals. What's confusing is that the definition of due process has many different interpretations. For example, due process requires all state and federal laws to be clear when defined and applied to individual rights. If they are vague, they violate due process.

Due process requires various practices and procedures by which a case is tried. Due process requires that all provisions within the Bill of Rights (the Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution), including the 4th Amendment through the 8th Amendment, are applied to all court cases. The purpose of due process is to ensure fairness.

Due process refers not only to how the government may use its power, but it also limits when and why that power may be exercised. Due process protects citizens against unreasonable laws. For example, confining mentally ill people against their wishes, if they are not considered dangerous to themselves or society, is an unreasonable limit of their liberty. This is a direct violation of due process.

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