Due Process Rights and Terrorist Emergencies

Abstract

This essay discusses the grounds for due process rights (DPRs) and the permissibil¬ity of suspending them during terrorist and other emergencies. The two topics are profitably treated together because DPRs—along with freedoms of movement, expression, and political participation—are often suspended or restricted when national emergencies occur. Although I present a strong case for DPRs as human rights, this justification does not settle their priority during emergency situations. That issue raises additional questions, and I discuss some of them. The overall thrust of the essay is to defend the importance of respecting DPRs during troubled times. The penultimate section discusses DPRs in the context of the “war on terror” in the United States.