1. Government – Libertyville HS
Due Process
Government – Libertyville HS

2. What is Due Process?
Due Process is part of the Fifth Amendment (federal government)
Due Process is also part of the Fourteenth Amendment
DP protects a person from state / federal government from taking a person’s life, liberty or property without notice and a hearing

3. What is Due Process? What is “notice”? What is a “hearing”?
The government must tell someone before it takes their property or liberty
Fundamental right – this MUST happen in a criminal or civil case
What is a “hearing”?
The government must give a person the opportunity to defend herself

4. What is Due Process?
Examples of what Due Process protection gives a person
Right to a fair and public trial
Right to be present at your own trial
Right to an impartial jury
Right to testify at own trial
Laws must be written so a reasonable person can understand them

5. What is Due Process? Examples, continued
Taxes may only be taken for public purposes
Property may be taken by the government only for public purposes
Owners of taken property must be fairly compensation

6. What is Life, Liberty & Property?
Life = government lawfully executing a person
Liberty = government detaining or imprisoning a person FOR ANY REASON
Stop on street
Send to prison for life
Property = government taking your money or stuff

7. Due Process
The key to due process is making sure the government treats people in a fundamentally fair way!

8. How Does Due Process Work?
Step One: determine interests of the government
Ex 1– what are interests of school when suspending someone? (discuss)
Maintaining a learning enviro
Safety of other students
Ex 2 – what are interests of government in a death penalty case? (discuss)
Punishing law breaker
Preventing other serious crime

9. How Does Due Process Work?
Step Two: Determine how much “process” is due in a given situation
Due process is not rigid, but rather a flexible thing
Depends upon situation
Think of it as a balance between degree of loss of person’s rights and importance of government’s interests

10. Two Parts of Due Process
Procedural due process
Government must use fair and just procedures whenever it wants to take away a person’s life / liberty / property
More procedures needed depending upon the amount of injury to a person’s life / liberty / property

11. Two Parts of Due Process
Substantive Due Process
Government must have a proper reason to take away a person’s life / liberty / property
This is the case regardless of the procedural due process followed!

12. Let’s Practice!: Question #1
Does a person have to talk with the police at any time, in any situation?
NO!
Never when conversation may implicate self in criminal activity (right against self incrimination)
If you are in custody, police must inform you of your constitutional right (1) to remain silent & (2) of your right to an attorney before questioning
But…
Always good to talk to facilitate government interest in law enforcement!
AND your refusal to talk may lead police to become suspicious

13. Lets Practice! Question #2
When can the police search a person’s home or body?
Government must have higher degree of justification for higher degree of intrusion into liberty
Need…
Search warrant based on probable cause, granted by judge
Warrant must specify what is to be searched / seized
Example: search warrant looking for AK-47 in home; can police look in…
Closet?
Shoe box?

14. Let’s Practice! Question #2
Exceptions to Search Warrant requirement
Safety of police (Terry “stop and frisk”)
“hot pursuit” (ex. Pursuing someone into house)
Emergencies (ex responding to fire / call for help)
Search incident to arrest
Consent of person being searched
Plain view (where police are entitled to enter, and violation of law is in plain sight)

15. Let’s Practice! Question #3
When may the police search my car?
Search accessible interior of car stopped for suspicious behavior
During arrest of person in a car (driver or passengers) may search accessible interior of car for safety and protection of police
“Inventory” search prior to impounding car (safety reasons)
If found pot in car, can be used as evidence
BUT can’t open and search locked suitcase

16. Let’s Practice! Question #4
Can school officials search me or my locker?
Special responsibility that school has for all students (education)
Thus, schools have power to establish and enforce rules to support a learning environment
School officials act in place of parents (in loco parentis); have obligation for safety, moral and educational development of students
School authorities have high interest in order, proper behavior
Students are usually minors w/o fully developed interests or rights
THUS – students have lower expectation of privacy while on school property

17. Let’s Practice! Question #4
So - Can school officials search me or my locker?
On school property, officials only have to show “reasonable suspicion” (lower degree of certainty) to justify search
Regarding lockers…
What is student’s expectation of privacy?
Did student provide own lock, or does school possess keys to open all lockers?
Did school state that lockers were not private student areas?

18. Let’s Practice! Problem #5
Can school authorities conduct random drug tests of student athletes? How about random searches with drug sniffing dog?
USSC – students have diminished expectation of privacy in school
School has strong interest in promoting proper behavior, preventing drug use
Drug tests not intrusive into student’s privacy
Similar analysis should apply to random searches with drug sniffing dogs