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.