Due process is an open-ended concept defined by history and reason, not fixed rules
Evidence
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution guarantee that neither the federal government nor the state governments may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Nevertheless, exactly what process is “due” at trial, and what procedures are constitutional, is difficult to determine. … “Due Process,” unlike some legal rules, is not a technical conception with a fixed content unrelated to time, place, and circumstances. Expressing as it does in its ultimate analysis respect enforced by law for the feeling of just treatment … [and] representing a profound attitude of fairness between man and man, and more particularly between the individual and government, due process is compounded of history, reason, the past course of decisions, and stout confidence in the strength of the democratic faith that we profess. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 806
Categorization
- DEFINE: Frankfurter’s definition of due process as a fluid, contextual standard is central to understanding procedural fairness disputes.
- XREF: Connects to substantive due process debates and the living-constitution interpretation methodology likely covered elsewhere in this course. — connects to: Due process derives its meaning from evolving standards of fair treatment, not fixed rules — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1288; Due process has content that shifts with time, place, and circumstance; Due process means procedural fairness shaped by context rather than fixed content — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 806 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Due process derives its meaning from evolving standards of fair treatment, not fixed rules
#corroborates(0.97) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1288 - Due process means procedural fairness shaped by context rather than fixed content
#corroborates(0.93) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 806 - Due process has content that shifts with time, place, and circumstance
#expands(0.90) - The common law is a method of reasoning rather than a fixed rule body
#expands(0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 137 - Common law rules arise from comparing cases, not from tracing prior logic
#expands(0.72) — Burton, Steven J, An Introduction to Law and Legal…, 222