Also known as: notice & opportunity to be heard · notice and an opportunity to be heard · procedural due process · due process hearing
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A core requirement of procedural due process that compels the government to inform an individual of an impending deprivation of a protected liberty or property interest and to afford that individual a meaningful chance to contest the action before it occurs.
Nalini Narula and her former partner share physical custody of their child in State A. When the former partner files a custody petition in State B, the court there must notify Nalini and give her a chance to appear before entering any order. Without that step the resulting determination cannot bind her under the Act.
Norman Nash lived with his child and the mother for several years before the mother placed the child for adoption. The state agency must notify Norman and allow him to be heard on his parental fitness. Failure to do so prevents the adoption from extinguishing his rights.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Nolan Nunez owns oceanfront lots that the state claims have been altered by a renourishment project. Before the state can declare the new dry sand public, it must notify Nolan and provide a hearing on whether the project effects a taking. The absence of that process leaves the ownership question unresolved.
Noreen Nguyen is held as an enemy combatant after capture abroad. The government must supply notice of the factual basis for detention and a hearing before a neutral decision maker. Without those steps the continued detention cannot satisfy due process.
Neil Nair is a state college instructor whose one-year contract is not renewed. Because he has no protected property interest, the institution need not give him notice or a hearing before declining to reappoint him.
Naveen Nanda receives monthly disability payments that the agency proposes to end after a medical review. The agency must provide notice of the proposed termination and an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing before cutting off benefits. The balancing of private interest, risk of error, and government burden determines the precise form of that hearing.
The requirement applies whenever the government seeks to deprive a person of a protected liberty or property interest. Courts first identify whether such an interest exists under state or federal law. If it does, the Constitution demands notice of the proposed action and a meaningful chance to be heard before the deprivation occurs.
Supporting sources
No. An at-will employee has no protected property interest in continued employment under state law. Without that interest the Due Process Clause does not require notice or a hearing before the employment ends.
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The Act requires that notice and an opportunity to be heard be given in accordance with Section 108 to every parent whose rights have not been terminated and to any person having physical custody. A custody determination made without that notice is not enforceable under the Act.
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The test weighs the private interest affected, the risk of erroneous deprivation under current procedures, and the government interest in fiscal and administrative efficiency. The resulting hearing may range from a full evidentiary proceeding to a more limited opportunity to submit written evidence, depending on the balance.
Supporting sources
…underlying the holding that it could not be “due process of law” to render a personal judgment against a defendant without notice and an opportunity to be heard. Milliken v. Meyer , 311 U. S. 457. In McDonald v. Mabee , 243 U. S. 90, 91, cited in the Milliken case, Mr. Justice Holmes, speaking for the Court, warned against judicial curtailment…