Due Process of Law

1. Due Process of Law Individual Rights

2. Due Process • The Constitution contains two due process clauses • 5th- One cannot be deprived of life, liberty of property without due process • 14th- The same restriction is put on the states

3. Definition • The Court has yet to specifically define what is due process, but has dealt with the issue on a case by case basis • Substantive Due Process- The government must create fair policies and laws • Procedural Due Process- The government must employ fair procedures and methods

4. Example of procedural due process • In Rochin v. California, deputies arrested a man who swallowed two capsules • The officers took him to a hospital and pumped his stomach, finding the pills to be morphine. • The man was convicted of violating narcotics laws • The Supreme Court said this procedure was a violation of the 14th amendment

5. Example of Substantive Due Process • In Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, the Court found that an Oregon Law that made it mandatory that all students from ages 8-16 attend a public school was unconstitutional. • The law itself was found to be unfair, since it “unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents to direct their children’s education.”

6. Police Power • The authority of the state to promote public health, safety , morals and welfare • It is the power of each state to protect the well-being of its people

7. Police Power • Often clashes with the idea of individual rights • Ex. • Each state sets tests to determine how to judge if someone is drunk driving • Breathalyzer, walk a line, blood sample etc.

8. How the state can protect public safety • 1) Health- States can limit the sale of alcohol, tobacco, and make laws on pollution • 2) Safety- States can require people to wear seatbelts, punish drunk drivers • 3) Morals- regulate gambling, outlaw the sale of obscene material and outlaw prostitution • 4) General Welfare- enact education laws, provide medical care to the needy etc.

9. Right of Privacy • The Court has dictated that there is a right to privacy, even though it is not specifically listed in the Constitution • First appeared in Griswold v. Connecticut, which stated that prohibiting the sale of birth control was a violation of the 14th amendment

10. Roe V. Wade • One of the most controversial decisions ever released by the Supreme Court • Struck down a Texas law that made abortion illegal • Set up a rule of regulation based in trimesters • 1) 1st- State cannot interfere with a woman’s right to an abortion • 2)2nd- The State can make reasonable regulations, but cannot prohibit the procedure • 3) 3rd- The State can prohibit all abortions, unless it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother

11. Other Reproductive Cases • The Court’s decisions on abortion have changed over time • The courts have allowed the State to prohibit abortion in several ways • Abortions seekers must go to counseling in some states • Women under 18 must have parental consent, or permission from a judge • Some states require women to notify their spouse