Opinion ID: 1767741
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the due process requirement

Text: The basic due process guarantee of the Florida Constitution provides that [n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Art. I, § 9, Fla. Const. Substantive due process under the Florida Constitution protects the full panoply of individual rights from unwarranted encroachment by the government. To ascertain whether the encroachment can be justified, courts have considered the propriety of the state's purpose; the nature of the party being subjected to state action; the substance of that individual's right being infringed upon; the nexus between the means chosen by the state and the goal it intended to achieve; whether less restrictive alternatives were available; and whether individuals are ultimately being treated in a fundamentally unfair manner in derogation of their substantive rights. Substantive due process may implicate, among other things, the definition of an offense, see State v. Bussey, 463 So.2d 1141 (Fla. 1985); Baker v. State, 377 So.2d 17 (Fla. 1979); the burden and standard of proof of elements and defenses, see, e.g., State v. Cohen, 568 So.2d 49, 51 (Fla. 1990); the presumption of innocence, see State v. Rodriguez, 575 So.2d 1262 (Fla. 1991); State v. Harris, 356 So.2d 315, 317 (1978); vagueness, see, e.g., Perkins v. State, 576 So.2d 1310 (Fla. 1991); Bussey; State v. Barquet, 262 So.2d 431, 436 (Fla. 1972); the conduct of law enforcement officials, see Haliburton v. State, 514 So.2d 1088 (Fla. 1987); State v. Glosson, 462 So.2d 1082 (Fla. 1985); the right to a fair trial, see Kritzman v. State, 520 So.2d 568 (Fla. 1988); and the availability or harshness of remedies, see In re Forfeiture of 1976 Kenworth Tractor Trailer Truck, 576 So.2d 261 (Fla. 1990); Roush v. State, 413 So.2d 15 (Fla. 1982). [5] Procedural due process serves as a vehicle to ensure fair treatment through the proper administration of justice where substantive rights are at issue. Procedural due process under the Florida Constitution guarantees to every citizen the right to have that course of legal procedure which has been established in our judicial system for the protection and enforcement of private rights. It contemplates that the defendant shall be given fair notice[] and afforded a real opportunity to be heard and defend[] in an orderly procedure, before judgment is rendered against him. State ex rel. Gore v. Chillingworth, 126 Fla. 645, 657-58, 171 So. 649, 654 (1936) (citations omitted); accord, e.g., Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 80, 92 S.Ct. 1983, 1994, 32 L.Ed.2d 556 (1972) (procedural due process under the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees notice and an opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner). The manner in which due process protections apply vary with the character of the interests and the nature of the process involved. Hadley v. Department of Admin., 411 So.2d 184, 187 (Fla. 1982); accord Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 334, 96 S.Ct. 893, 902, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976). There is no single, inflexible test by which courts determine whether the requirements of procedural due process have been met. Hadley, 411 So.2d at 187. While the doctrines of substantive and procedural due process play distinct roles in the judicial process, they frequently overlap. Hence, many cases do not expressly state the distinction between procedural and substantive due process. See, e.g., State v. Rodriguez, 575 So.2d 1262 (Fla. 1991) (in criminal cases the state must provide notice of each essential element and proof beyond a reasonable doubt); accord, e.g., In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970).