Due Process- We hear the term almost continuously. What is it?

Question

Hour by hour there is breaking news about actions by Federal Government Officials and employees said to violate the Due Process rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Legacy news constantly uses the label “Due Process” unaccompanied by any definition or explanation. The term is thrown around so much, and in so many different contexts, that it seems as if “Due Process” is what anybody “feels” it is. Help!

Answer 1

It's much more than the Black Eyed Peas music video "I Gotta Feeling", might suggest.

Due Process refers to the legal procedures that must be followed when criminal or quasi-criminal charges are brought against a resident of the United States. Under the U.S. Constitution, the 5th Amendment guarantees that the federal government must provide due process, while the 14th Amendment extends this requirement to state governments, including arms of the state such as counties and municipalities.

At its core, due process ensures that individuals charged with crimes are afforded (1) notice (of the charges against them) and a (2) hearing (providing an opportunity to contest the charges). This hearing must be conducted with a level of procedural formality and fairness that is proportional to the seriousness of the charges. The rights accorded during the required hearing (such as a right to an Article 3 Judge or, by contrast, an Article 2 Immigration Judge) also depend on the status of the individual facing the charges. For example, U.S. citizens are entitled to more procedural protections than lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and green card holders, in turn, are entitled to more protections than undocumented immigrants.

Though a civil case, the U.S. Supreme Court case of Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950) in an unambiguous fashion addresses due process as broadly applied across criminal as well as civil proceedings:

“An elementary and fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections”.