Due Process

Explain due process and how the Constitution protects it.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 79

Here's a made-up story. Someone broke a window at school, and the principal punished Ben without asking a single question. Ben never heard why, and never got to explain. Does that feel fair?
Now imagine that the government did that to you. Our Constitution says it can't. The idea is called due process of law. It means fair steps must be followed first.
The 5th Amendment says the national government can't take away a person's life, liberty, or property without due process. The 14th Amendment says the same to the states.
The fair steps usually include these. Know the charge. Have a lawyer. Get a fair trial. Tell your side. A person is treated as innocent unless the government proves guilt.
America has not always kept this promise. In World War II, Japanese Americans were locked in camps with no charge and no trial. That's why due process must be protected for every person, every time.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS5CG1.b — Explain the concept of due process of law and describe how the U.S. Constitution protects a citizen's rights by due process.