Constitutional Law — Due Process & Equal Protection Study Materials Flashcards

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Procedural Due Process

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Procedural due process governs the procedures the government must follow before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property. It focuses on how the government acts and requires fair rules such as hearings or warrants when entitlements are at stake.

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Substantive Due Process

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Substantive due process asks whether the government can make a rule at all by protecting fundamental liberties from government interference. It distinguishes rights that are deeply rooted in history and tradition and subjects laws affecting them to strict scrutiny.

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Mathews Test

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The Mathews v. Eldridge balancing test determines how much procedure is due by weighing three factors: the private interest affected, the risk of erroneous deprivation without additional procedures, and the government's interest including costs. Courts use it to find the 'goldilocks' amount of process required in each case.

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Protected Interest

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A protected interest is a life, liberty, or property interest that rises to an entitlement under law or contract and triggers procedural protections. It is more than hope or unilateral expectation and usually stems from statutes, contracts, or established rules.

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Entitlement Doctrine

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The entitlement doctrine expands the concept of property to include benefits like welfare or tenure when there is a legitimate claim created by law or contract. If a person has an entitlement, depriving it generally requires procedural protections such as hearings.

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Deprivation

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A deprivation for procedural due process requires intentional or reckless government action that takes away a protected interest, not mere negligence. The government must intentionally cause the harm or act with reckless disregard to trigger PDP protections.

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Predeprivation Hearing

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A predeprivation hearing occurs before the government takes away a protected interest and is generally preferred for fairness. It is required unless emergency circumstances justify delaying process.

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Postdeprivation Hearing

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A postdeprivation hearing occurs after the government has taken action and is permitted when prompt action is necessary for public health, safety, or emergencies. Courts allow postdeprivation remedies when pre-action process would be impractical or dangerous.

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Fundamental Right

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A fundamental right is a liberty deeply rooted in the nation’s history and tradition or implicit in ordered liberty, triggering strict scrutiny if burdened. Examples include marriage, procreation, family relations, and refusing medical treatment.

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Glucksberg Test

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The Glucksberg test requires courts to define the asserted right very specifically and ask whether it is deeply rooted in history and tradition. If the right is not so rooted, it is not fundamental and is reviewed under rational basis instead of strict scrutiny.

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Rational Basis

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Rational basis is the default level of review where the law is presumed constitutional and the challenger must show it is arbitrary or irrational. The government needs any legitimate reason and a rational relation between the law and that reason.

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Intermediate Scrutiny

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Intermediate scrutiny requires the government to show that the challenged classification is substantially related to an important governmental interest. It is typically applied in gender and certain non-marital children cases and demands a persuasive justification.

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Strict Scrutiny

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Strict scrutiny is applied to laws that burden fundamental rights or use suspect classifications like race, and it presumes the law unconstitutional. The government must prove a compelling interest and that the law is narrowly tailored and the least restrictive means to achieve that interest.

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Suspect Classification

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A suspect classification involves groups characterized by immutability, a history of discrimination, and political powerlessness, which triggers heightened judicial scrutiny. Race, national origin, and sometimes alienage are classic suspect classes subjected to strict scrutiny.

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Reverse Incorporation

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Reverse incorporation holds that the equal protection principles underlying the Fourteenth Amendment apply to the federal government through the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. This means the federal government is subject to an equal protection-like analysis even though the text differs.