ordered liberty

noun

or·​dered liberty
: freedom limited by the need for order in society

Note: The concept of ordered liberty was the initial standard for determining what provisions of the Bill of Rights were to be upheld by the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Today the Fourteenth Amendment is generally seen as encompassing all of the guarantees bearing on fundamental fairness that are included in or that arose from the Bill of Rights rather than a small class of provisions essential to ordered liberty.

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Cite this Entry

“Ordered liberty.” Merriam-Webster.com Legal Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/ordered%20liberty. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

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