Also known as:processes of law · due process · due process of law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional command requiring that government action depriving a person of life, liberty, or property be accompanied by fair procedures and substantive limits on arbitrary power.
Sources & Authorities· 16 primary sources
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Notice and Hearing Before License Revocation
Philip Powell loses his state-issued professional license after an ex parte proceeding. The state provides no notice or opportunity to contest the revocation. The court holds the action unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause.
Invalidation of Interracial Marriage Ban
Pilar Pena and Pedro Pacheco seek to marry in a state that prohibits interracial unions. The state enforces the ban against them. The court strikes down the statute as violating fundamental liberty interests.
State Deprivation Without Fair Hearing
Philip Powell loses his state-issued professional license after an ex parte proceeding. The state provides no notice or opportunity to contest the revocation. The court holds the action unconstitutional.
Penelope Price, convicted of a minor offense, faces mandatory sterilization under state law. The statute singles out certain offenders without regard to individual circumstances. The court invalidates the program as an unconstitutional infringement on procreative liberty.
Unmarried Father's Custody Interest
Patricia Patel lives with her nonmarital child as part of a family unit. Upon the mother's death the state removes the child without any hearing. The court requires procedural protections before severing the parental relationship.
Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage Right
Phoenix Technologies employees seek state recognition of their out-of-state same-sex marriages. The state refuses on statutory grounds. The court holds that the fundamental right to marry extends to same-sex couples under substantive due process.
Obergefell v. Hodges576 U.S. 644 (2015)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
What textual sources contain the phrase 'process of law'?+
The Fifth Amendment applies the phrase to the federal government. The Fourteenth Amendment applies an identical phrase to the states.
Supporting sources
Does the clause protect only procedural fairness?+
No. It also imposes substantive limits that bar arbitrary deprivations of fundamental liberties such as marriage and procreation.
Supporting sources
When must a state provide notice and a hearing?+
A state must provide notice and an opportunity to be heard before depriving an individual of a protected liberty or property interest, such as parental custody or a professional license.
Supporting sources
410 U.S. 113 (1973)Constitutional Law
…found in the Bill of Rights. But that liberty is not guaranteed absolutely against deprivation, only against deprivation without due process of law. The test traditionally applied in the area of social and economic legislation is whether or not a law such as that challenged has a rational relation to a valid state objective.…