One of our most fundamental rights as citizens of a democracy is our right to due process of law. This principle provides critical protection against arbitrary rule by the government. The text explores the origins of this very old constitutional principle and how its traditional definition has expanded over time. From a basic concern with fairness in criminal procedures (procedural due process), the legal concept expanded to become a key tool for protecting a variety of individual rights, some of them controversial (substantive due process). This title fulfills the needs of the Common Core by providing rigorous, complex text and examining due process rights from multiple points of view.

One of our most fundamental rights as citizens of a democracy is our right to due process of law. This principle provides critical protection against arbitrary rule by the government. The text explores the origins of this very old constitutional principle and how its traditional definition has expanded over time. From a basic concern with fairness in criminal procedures (procedural due process), the legal concept expanded to become a key tool for protecting a variety of individual rights, some of them controversial (substantive due process). This title fulfills the needs of the Common Core by providing rigorous, complex text and examining due process rights from multiple points of view.