Free Essays on Due Process

Due process is best defined in one word-fairness. Throughout the history of the United States, its constitutions, statues and case law have provided standards for fair treatment of citizens by federal, state and local governments. These standards are known as due process. Due process of law is administered through courts of justice in accordance with established and sanctioned legal principles and procedures, and the safeguards for the protection of individual rights. When or if at anytime a person is treated unfairly by the government, the criminal justice system (to include the courts), that person is said to have been deprived of or denied his/her due process. it is often referred to in such terms as the "law of the land" and "legal judgement of his peers." The first time these expressions were used in the sense of due process was in the great charter of English liberty, the Magna Carter. In the United States, the phrase due process first appears in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified December 15, 1791. the amendment refers specifically to federal and not state actions, therefore another amendment was necessary to include the states. this was accomplished by the 14th Amendment, ratified July 9, 1868. As a result of the ratification, it was established at both federal and state levels that no person "shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Recently, the United States Supreme Court has placed emphasis on procedural safeguards in the administration of criminal justice in federal and state cours. As determined by custom and law, due process has become a guarantee of civil as well as criminal rights. Through interpretation of the law, due process has grown to include, among other things, provision for ensuring an accused person a fair and public trial before a competent tribunal, the right to be present at the trial, and the right ot be heard in his/her own defe... Free Essays on Due Process Free Essays on Due Process The phrase ''due process of law'' does not necessarily imply a proceeding in a court or a plenary suit and trial by jury in every case where personal or property rights are involved. 25 ''In all cases, that kind of procedure is due process of law which is suitable and proper to the nature of the case, and sanctioned by the established customs and usages of the courts.'' 26 What is unfair in one situation may be fair in another. 27 ''The precise nature of the interest that has been adversely affected, the manner in which this was done, the reasons for doing it, the available alternatives to the procedure that was followed, the protection implicit in the office of the functionary whose conduct is challenged, the balance of hurt complained of and good accomplishedthese are some of the considerations that must enter into the judicial judgment.'' 28 n. a fundamental principle of fairness in all legal matters, both civil and criminal, especially in the courts. All legal procedures set by statute and court practice, including notice of rights, must be followed for each individual so that no prejudicial or unequal treatment will result. While somewhat indefinite, the term can be gauged by its aim to safeguard both private and public rights against unfairness. The universal guarantee of due process is in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides "No person shall†¦be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," and is applied to all states by the 14th Amendment. From this basic principle flows many legal decisions determining both procedural and substantive rights.... Free Essays on Due Process Due process is best defined in one word-fairness. Throughout the history of the United States, its constitutions, statues and case law have provided standards for fair treatment of citizens by federal, state and local governments. These standards are known as due process. Due process of law is administered through courts of justice in accordance with established and sanctioned legal principles and procedures, and the safeguards for the protection of individual rights. When or if at anytime a person is treated unfairly by the government, the criminal justice system (to include the courts), that person is said to have been deprived of or denied his/her due process. it is often referred to in such terms as the "law of the land" and "legal judgement of his peers." The first time these expressions were used in the sense of due process was in the great charter of English liberty, the Magna Carter. In the United States, the phrase due process first appears in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified December 15, 1791. the amendment refers specifically to federal and not state actions, therefore another amendment was necessary to include the states. this was accomplished by the 14th Amendment, ratified July 9, 1868. As a result of the ratification, it was established at both federal and state levels that no person "shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Recently, the United States Supreme Court has placed emphasis on procedural safeguards in the administration of criminal justice in federal and state cours. As determined by custom and law, due process has become a guarantee of civil as well as criminal rights. Through interpretation of the law, due process has grown to include, among other things, provision for ensuring an accused person a fair and public trial before a competent tribunal, the right to be present at the trial, and the right ot be heard in his/her own defe...