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

Then, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said prosecutors failed to correct false testimony from their star witness — Sneed — which violated Glossip's due process rights, per The New York Times. —Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026

In 2020, longtime TCC instructor and program director Jeff McDonald sued the college for breach of contract, constitutional violations and deprivation of property interests without due process. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026

That was the focus of a Supreme Court case that ultimately determined the prosecution's failure to correct Sneed's testimony violated Glossip's constitutional right to due process, granting him a new trial with an order issued in February 2025. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 May 2026

Without due process, everyone of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast was forced to abandon (or sell, usually at a significant loss) their homes, farms and businesses before being put in camps like Manzanar. —Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 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