Due Process

Put simply, Due Process, is the requirement of the government to respect every legal rights that a person has. It is seen as an essential balance between individual freedoms and the law.

In the United States, Due Process is an entrenched right within the US Constitution, and can be found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment.

Fifth Amendment: “Nor shall any person… be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”

Fourteenth Amendment: “Nor shall any State deprive any person of live, liberty, or property, without due process”

As the Fifth Amendment protects a persons legal rights, it is quite common to hear those who are arrested to ‘plead the fifth’, essentially meaning that they should have all their legal rights afforded to them.