There are certain individual rights
that are recognized as absolute when
it comes to modern society, and, yes, these rights unfortunately
include tweeting that you had a Caesar salad for lunch--
freedom of speech, after all.
But another fundamental right is the right to due process.
You may be familiar with the term,
since it's an integral part of American judicial philosophy,
not to mention the Bill of Rights.
In fact, it's the only command in the Constitution
stated twice, but what does it mean, exactly?
Essentially, due process is the legal requirement
that a government must respect all of a person's legal rights
before taking from them, and I quote, "life, liberty,
or property."
Specific elements of due process include the right
to a notice of the charges against you,
the opportunity to be heard, and the opportunity
to defend yourself.
When a system of law ignores any one of these steps
before convicting someone, this constitutes
a violation of due process and the rule of law.
This is not a new idea, by the way.
The very concept of due process was originally
documented in the Magna Carta, no, the other one.
Florida law, like most everywhere,
includes within the idea of due process certain protections.
For example, you can't be forced to testify against yourself.
Due process also means no double jeopardy,
which does not mean two doses of a TV trivia game show.
It means being tried for the same offense twice.
It must be remembered that due process only
applies to the government, either state or federal,
and not necessarily to, say, a private school
disciplining a student.
The one thing the idea of due process lacks is specifics.
It doesn't really outline which exact processes are due.
The basic idea is that someone accused of something
should have a chance to face her accusers
and give her side of the story, so most everyone
agrees that, at a minimum, due process
must include notice of the accusation,
a hearing of some type, and a ruling.
The particulars are usually covered
in each jurisdiction's code of law
for different types of cases.
Nonetheless, due process is supposed
to apply to all citizens, without exception.
If you think you're being prevented due process
or just want to find out more about it,
visit LegalYou, because you have a right to know your rights.
LegalYou, you can do this.