due process

noun

1

: a course of formal proceedings (such as legal proceedings) carried out regularly and in accordance with established rules and principles

called also procedural due process

2

: a judicial requirement that enacted laws may not contain provisions that result in the unfair, arbitrary, or unreasonable treatment of an individual

called also substantive due process

Examples of due process in a Sentence

Due process requires that evidence not be admitted when it is obtained through illegal methods.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1850, enslavers even voided the writ of habeas corpus and its due process protections against unlawful detention by pushing through a national Fugitive Slave Law. —Time, 5 Sep. 2025

The lawsuit accuses Webster of violating her federal constitutional rights through use of excessive force, cruel and unusual punishment and deprivation of due process by unlawfully detaining and sodomizing her. —Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025

The two administrators then jointly filed a suit against CPS and district officials including then-CEO Janice Jackson, alleging deprivation of due process, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. —Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025

In a headline-grabbing move earlier this year, Kwek took his son Sherman Kwek, CEO of flagship City Developments, to court for appointing new directors without following due process but two weeks later called a truce and withdrew the lawsuit. —Jane Ho, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for due process

• abs
• acquiesce
• ancestress
• authoress
• coalesce
• decompress
• dispossess
• faithfulness
• letterpress
• mayoress
• murderess
• nonetheless

Legal Definition

due process

noun

1

: a course of formal proceedings (as judicial proceedings) carried out regularly, fairly, and in accordance with established rules and principles

called also procedural due process

2

: a requirement that laws and regulations must be related to a legitimate government interest (as crime prevention) and may not contain provisions that result in the unfair or arbitrary treatment of an individual

called also substantive due process

Note: The guarantee of due process is found in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which states “no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” and in the Fourteenth Amendment, which states “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The boundaries of due process are not fixed and are the subject of endless judicial interpretation and decision-making. Fundamental to procedural due process is adequate notice prior to the government's deprivation of one's life, liberty, or property, and an opportunity to be heard and defend one's rights to life, liberty, or property. Substantive due process is a limit on the government's power to enact laws or regulations that affect one's life, liberty, or property rights. It is a safeguard from governmental action that is not related to any legitimate government interest or that is unfair, irrational, or arbitrary in its furtherance of a government interest. The requirement of due process applies to agency actions.

3

: the right to due process

acts that violated due process