ABSTRACT
The phrase "due process of law" developed from the provision in the Magna Carta in England during the thirteenth century stating that governments were subject to the "law of the land." In Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335, the Supreme Court decided due process required that the right to counsel specified within the Sixth Amendment meant that state governments, like the federal government, must supply counsel for indigent individuals accused of felonies. The idea of due process is often tied to the idea that governmental bodies and agencies must provide adequate hearings, procedures, or forums before punishing individuals or depriving them of basic rights. The elusiveness of the idea of due process will undoubtedly continue to be both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Due process is universally recognized as fundamental to democratic nations that seek to protect individual rights and liberties.
