Due Process

A Levels Academy Islamabad

Transcript

00:00There are certain individual rights that are recognized as absolute when it comes to modern society.

00:06And, yes, these rights unfortunately include tweeting that you had a Caesar salad for lunch.

00:12Freedom of speech, after all.

00:15But another fundamental right is the right to due process.

00:18You may be familiar with the term since it's an integral part of American judicial philosophy,

00:23not to mention the Bill of Rights.

00:25In fact, it's the only command in the Constitution stated twice.

00:30But what does it mean exactly?

00:32Essentially, due process is the legal requirement that a government must respect all of a person's legal rights

00:38before taking from them, and I quote,

00:41life, liberty, or property.

00:44Specific elements of due process include the right to a notice of the charges against you,

00:49the opportunity to be heard, and the opportunity to defend yourself.

00:53When a system of law ignores any one of these steps before convicting someone,

00:58this constitutes a violation of due process and the rule of law.

01:02This is not a new idea, by the way.

01:05The very concept of due process was originally documented in the Magna Carta.

01:09No, the other one.

01:14Florida law, like most everywhere, includes, within the idea of due process, certain protections.

01:20For example, you can't be forced to testify against yourself.

01:27Due process also means no double jeopardy, which does not mean two doses of a TV trivia game show.

01:33It means being tried for the same offense twice.

01:37It must be remembered that due process only applies to the government, either state or federal,

01:42and not necessarily to, say, a private school disciplining a student.

01:47The one thing the idea of due process lacks is specifics.

01:51It doesn't really outline which exact processes are due.

01:55The basic idea is that someone accused of something should have a chance to face her accusers

02:00and give her side of the story.

02:02So, most everyone agrees that, at a minimum, due process must include notice of the accusation,

02:08a hearing of some type, and a ruling.

02:11The particulars are usually covered in each jurisdiction's code of law for different types of cases.

02:16Nonetheless, due process is supposed to apply to all citizens without exception.

02:21If you think you're being prevented due process or just want to find out more about it,

02:26visit LegalYou, because you have a right to know your rights.

02:30LegalYou, you can do this.