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Constitutional Law • Substantive Due Process
CONLAW#099
Legal Definition
Substantive Due Process guarantees that when one is deprived of life, liberty, or property, one is entitled to an adequate reason. Substantive Due process now also protects various privacy interests.
Plain English Explanation
Substantive Due Process is a rule that says the government must have a good reason to interfere with a person's basic rights to life, freedom, or property. It also means the government must respect certain personal decisions you make about your private life. It's different from Procedural Due Process, which focuses on how the government goes about taking away those rights, ensuring the process is fair and that you get a chance to argue your side.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Sam decides not to vaccinate his child, Timmy, based on personal beliefs. Hypofornia passes a law requiring all children to be vaccinated without exception. Result: While Substantive Due Process protects certain personal decisions, this law would likely be upheld because the government has a strong reason: protecting public health. The government's justification—preventing disease outbreaks—would likely be seen as an adequate reason to limit Sam's personal decision-making.
Hypo 2: Bob and Amy, a couple in New Hypoland, want to marry. However, a new law says people can only marry if they pass a financial stability test. Result: This law would likely be struck down under Substantive Due Process because it interferes with the fundamental right to marry without a sufficiently good reason. Marriage is a personal decision protected by privacy interests, and the law unnecessarily interferes with this decision.
Hypo 2: Bob and Amy, a couple in New Hypoland, want to marry. However, a new law says people can only marry if they pass a financial stability test. Result: This law would likely be struck down under Substantive Due Process because it interferes with the fundamental right to marry without a sufficiently good reason. Marriage is a personal decision protected by privacy interests, and the law unnecessarily interferes with this decision.
