How and why did the 14th Amendment enlarge and extend Due Process rights? Give examples, such as court cases, etc.
The 14th Amendment, which was adopted by the United States Constitution on the July 9th, 1868, was a reform amendment (Net Industries, 2012). It includes Due Process Clause that was originally mentioned in the 5th Amendment and pledged that every person’s “life, liberty or property” were to be respected and that the federal government could not make any claims on them with no fair trial in the court of law. Due Process Clause in the 14th Amendment entails that the principles of the 5th Amendment Due Process Clause be followed (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts). The Due Process Clause, in the United States explains the reasons laws are to be enforced and is applicable to every individual in the country, including the United States citizens, alien, and corporations (Walenta). In 1875, in the Dred Scott versus Sanford case, the Supreme Court of the United States has claimed that all the black people or the people of African descent, irrespective of whether or not they were slaves, were not to be regarded as the citizens of the country (Finkelman 82). The case was fought between the “slave” Scott and his “owner,” Emerson, but over the years the fight was against Sanford, who was the legal executor of the Emerson’s estate (Finkelman 82). The intention of passing the above-mentioned verdict was to resolve all the problems associated with slavery (Finkelman 82). While this decision has never really been disregarded by the Supreme Court, the Due Process Clause in the 14th Amendment ensured that such unfair decisions would not be passed out again (Finkelman 95). Thus, the Due Process Clause ensures that that the law remains fair to every person in the United States. It can be viewed in two ways.
In what ways are procedural and substantive Due Processes alike? How are they different? Also give examples.
The procedural part of the Due Process clause ensures that all the questions about the how to apply it are answered (Net Industries). It guarantees that the law clear and defines every aspect with lucidity without basing anything on false premises or presumptions (Net Industries). For instance, a law that states that beating a wife by a husband is illegal, cannot ignore the beating of a husband by the wife (Net Industries). For ensuring that a law is fair, the basic supposition must be that the defendant is innocent (Net Industries). The substantive process answers all the questions about why the law acting in a certain manner (Net Industries). It ensures that the law is does not behave unreasonably in any circumstance (Net Industries). Even if the law is unreasonably passed by the procedural part of the process, the substantive process pledges that it can make such a law unconstitutional (Net Industries). For example in Texas, in the Roe versus Wade case, which is prominent for its decision on the abortion, the verdict declared that a it would be a violation of the Due Process law to interfere in the personal decision of a woman to abort her pregnancy in the first trimester (Net Industries). It also declared the importance of regulating an abortion for the health interest of the mother. Similarly, the ongoing debate on the legislation that sometimes requires the involuntary confinement of certain non-dangerous mentally ill persons is another example of the substantial process trimester (Net Industries).
Basically, the Due Process Clause ensure the following: that every person has the right to have a fair and competent trial, that the accused or the accusing be present at his or her trial, that he or she be granted an disinterested jury, and that the accused and the accusing be able to present his or her defence (Net Industries). It is also stated that the laws that are made should explicitly explain “criminal behaviour,” that taxes be used for public purposes only, and that property taken by the government be for the use of the public only and in this case, the owner should be adequately compensated (Net Industries).
Works Cited
Finkelman, Paul. “Scott v. Sandford: The Court’s Most Dreadful Case and How it Changed History,” (2007). New Jersey: Routledge.
Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. “The Bill of Rights: Its History and Significance.” January 12, 2012 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/billofrightsintro.html.
Net Industries. “Due Process of Law - Substantive Due Process - Court, Rights, Clause, and Police” (2012). January 12, 2012
law.jrank.org/pages/6312/Due-Process-Law-Substantive-Due-Process.html.
Walenta, Craig “U.S Contitution Online.” (January 24, 2010). January 12, 2012 http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_duep.html.
