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

Lawyers and former judges warn of chaos and eroding due process, with hearings canceled, courthouse arrests rising and asylum seekers traveling hours for minutes-long appearances that can decide their futures. —Olga R. Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026

The erosion of due process when AI mediates government decisions in welfare, immigration, and the criminal justice system. —Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026

The student was not allowed due process in the investigation and the alleged misconduct against him was not adequately addressed, his mother claims in the suit. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026

So the media focuses heavily on sympathetic individual cases, and most of these individuals that they’re focused on have had hearings, they have been ordered removed, oftentimes in absentia, and simply don’t leave, and so at what point does ignoring a court order become the real due process issue? —Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 20 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for due process

• abs
• acquiesce
• authoress
• bodiless
• 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