Also known as: due process · due-process grounds
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional protection preventing government from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures or substantive limits on arbitrary action.
Dorothy Daniels faced federal charges for an infamous crime after authorities bypassed the grand jury process entirely. She moved to dismiss the information on due process grounds because the Fifth Amendment required presentment or indictment before trial could proceed. The court granted the motion and ordered the government to seek a proper grand jury proceeding.
Dylan Duffy and Delilah Duran, an interracial couple, applied for a marriage license in their home state. Officials denied the license under a statute prohibiting such unions. They challenged the denial on due process grounds because the freedom to marry a person of another race is a fundamental right that the state could not infringe.
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Derek Douglas was born in the United States to noncitizen parents. State officials attempted to deny him certain benefits by claiming he was not a citizen. He prevailed on due process grounds because the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on all persons born in the United States and bars states from abridging privileges without due process.
Diane Dawson was convicted of a minor offense and faced mandatory sterilization under state law. She challenged the statute on due process grounds because the right to procreate is fundamental and the state could not impose such a penalty without violating substantive protections.
Dwight Dorsey lived with his nonmarital child and the child's mother until her death. State officials removed the child without any hearing. Dorsey prevailed on due process grounds because an unmarried father in an established family unit holds a protected interest that the state cannot sever without fair process.
Dominion Capital served as trustee for a common trust fund and sought judicial settlement of accounts. Beneficiaries received only publication notice of the proceeding. The court set aside the judgment on due process grounds because notice must be reasonably calculated to reach known parties with protected property interests.
Prevailing on due process grounds means the court finds that government action deprived a person of life, liberty, or property without fair procedures or without a sufficient substantive justification. The claim succeeds when the challenger shows the action violated either procedural or substantive due process protections under the Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment.
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Due process protects fundamental rights by subjecting laws that burden them to strict scrutiny. A state law banning interracial marriage or imposing compulsory sterilization fails because the right to marry or to procreate is fundamental and the state lacks a sufficient justification independent of invidious discrimination.
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Inadequate notice violates due process when it fails to apprise interested parties of the proceeding in a manner reasonably calculated to reach them. Publication notice alone is insufficient for known beneficiaries with protected interests in trust accounts, requiring the judgment to be set aside.
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…by the Fourteenth Amendment. This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[^maj-11] Because these are class actions, because of the wide applicability of this decision, and because of the great variety of local conditions, the…