Procedural Vs. Substantive Due Process

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Procedural vs. Substantive Due Process One of the basic freedoms granted to us by the constitution is the right to due process under the law. “Due process” means that each person has the right to be judged by the same laws everyone else is judged by. However, in due process there are two different branches of the law: substantive and procedural. Substantive law deals with the “substance” of the law, in other words, it helps to define what exactly a crime is. Procedural law is the procedure for determining if a defendant if guilty or innocent. It is the same process for each case, to make it fair and the same for everyone. When dealing with substantive law, there are two types of acts you can issue a lawsuit about: crimes and torts. Crimes are acts specifically against the law, for example murder, stealing, kidnapping, sexual abuse, illegal drug usage or dealing, etc. Torts are acts that are not specifically against the law, but still harm individuals or property. Crimes can sometimes be…show more content…
It deals with the procedure used to determine if a person is guilty or innocent. Procedural law come from the 14th amendment in the constitution: due process. Its goal is to make sure that every citizen’s rights are respected. It oversees things such as how long a citizen can be held without proof of their guilt, bail, court dates. The rules are designed to keep due process fair for everyone. In our example from above, once you had filled a lawsuit against your neighbor for letting his tree fall on your house, procedural law would be the process by which the judge tries to figure out whether or not he is at fault. Did he cut the tree down on purpose or did it fall in a storm? Did he neglect to follow the proper safety protocol when cutting down trees? Is there an ongoing feud or tension between the two neighbors? Did anyone witness him cutting down the tree? All of these questions, and other processes, would be used to try to settle the lawsuit

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