Substantive Due Process

Definition of Substantive Due Process

Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Substantive Due Process legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia

A substantive review focusing on the content of governmental policy and actions. Substantive due process is distinguished from procedural due process, which attends to the means by which policies are executed. Judicial review of the reasonableness of legislative enactments allows the courts to actively intervene in policy judgments more than they could if review were confined to procedural considerations. The use of substantive due process to invalidate economic regulation is illustrated by the Supreme Court's decision in Lochner v. New York (198 U.S. 45: 1905). Lochner involved an attempt by the State of New York to limit the work week of bakers to 60 hours. The Court held that there is “no reasonable ground for interfering with the liberty of a person or the right of free contract by determining the hours of labor in the occupation of a baker.” The Court made a substantive judgment that the regulation of work hours for bakers was sufficiently unreasonable to constitute a denial of due process of law.

See Also

Due Process of Law (Judicial Function) Procedural Due Process (Judicial Function).

Resources

Substantive Due Process Related Resources

• Substantive Due Process in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
• Judicial Function Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
• Judicial Function Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary

Notes

• “Substantive Due Process”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California

Substantive Due Process (Judicial Function)