Substantive due process is a constitutional principle derived from the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. It protects certain fundamental rights from government interference, even when procedural protections are observed. Unlike procedural due process, which ensures fair legal procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property, substantive due process focuses on whether the government's laws or actions themselves are fair and just in substance
. Key points about substantive due process include:
- It safeguards fundamental rights that are not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution but are deemed essential to liberty, such as the rights to marry, raise children, work in ordinary jobs, and privacy
- It limits the government's power to enact laws that unjustifiably infringe on these fundamental liberties, regardless of the procedures used
- The doctrine has been applied historically in cases like Lochner v. New York (1905), where the Supreme Court struck down a law regulating bakers' working hours, asserting that the right to contract was a fundamental liberty protected by substantive due process
- Substantive due process remains a subject of debate, with some critics arguing that it allows courts to overreach by invalidating laws based on judicial views of fairness rather than democratic processes
In summary, substantive due process protects individuals from laws that infringe on fundamental rights without sufficient justification, ensuring that certain liberties cannot be taken away by the government even if legal procedures are properly followed
