In layman's terms, what does "due process of law" mean?

Answer 1

Just means let the legal procedures of the country be followed before reaching a conclusion.
It is a saying normally applied in criminal investigations: x is accused of doing something wrong. People say let the due process of law take its path. i.e let x have a trial by jury in court and be convicted or aquitted, before reaching a conclusion about him / her

Answer 2

In layman's terms, it is the legal process which you are due, which is an entirely circular definition. What it means varies depending on the circumstances of the case, but generally courts interpret the constitutional language as requiring some (but not all) of the traditional procedures that existed in legal cases at the time of the adoption of the Constitution (or at the time of the Fourteenth Amendment).

In addition, there is a U.S. Supreme Court case (the Slaughterhouse Case) from the late 1800s which basically wrote the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment out of the Constitution. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has sometimes used the due process clause as a way of doing what the privileges and immunities clause was intended to do (extend the Bill of Rights to the states). The formal name for this process is called substantive due process (which is an oxymoron).

Answer 3

Define Due Process Of Law

Answer 4

That the law can be arbitrary or unpredictable.

The two key requirements of due process are that the person be aware of their responsibilities (and notified of any pending punishment) and that they be given an opportunity to present their side of the argument before a neutral decision maker.

These two -- notice and opportunity to be heard -- are the cornerstones of procedural due process. Everything else is built on top of that.

The term "due process" in a constitutional arena also includes substantive due process -- the requirement that certain fundamental rights cannot be lightly infringed. But that's a much more complicated topic.

Answer 5

What Does Due Process Mean

Answer 6

In simple terms, due process requires NOTICE about something that is going to affect you, and AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD about the event that is going to affect you. How is Notice to be given to you? It depends. In court the rules require that your attorney be given so many days notice. In class action situations notice is sometimes given by email and more often by advertising in a newspaper, so that people in China for example who are members of a class are precluded if they fail to read the small classified ad published in a small newspaper in NYC. The courts have held that this is notice. The other aspect, OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD, means that the person to be affected has a reasonable opportunity to prepare to respond to the noticed charges and to come before the tribunal or other body to present his/her side of the issue. If after being given adequate Notice and a reasonable Opportunity to be Heard, the person fails to appear, there is no denial of due process of law in the taking away of the property, interests or other rights involved in the matter.

Answer 7

Due process is the combination of all your rights permitted by the constitution, as they apply in the courtroom.

It includes 4th amendment rights to unreasonable search and seizure, 5th amendment rights to self incrimination, and 6th amendment rights to a speedy trial and unusual punishment, along with other rights to include legal representation, the oppotunity to face your accuser, and the right to cross examine witnesses.

Answer 8

Due process of law is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law. Due process holds the government subservient to the law of the land, protecting individual persons from the state. It is the primary reason why our Constitution must remain as is.

Answer 9

A constitutional provision guaranteeing an accused person a fair and impartial trial.

Answer 10

The right to a trial by a jury of your peers. Habeus Corpus.