Due Process: A Public Dimension

• NCJ Number: 117195
• Author(s): J Resnik
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 27 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Rand Corporation; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at the Conference on Procedural Due Process: Liberty and Justice held at the University of Florida, February 13-14, 1987.

Annotation

This essay explores the public dimension of the due process theory, i.e., the role of the public in the adjudicative process and the function of the adjudicative process for the public.

Abstract

In explaining how and why the presence of the public affects procedure, the essay reviews some of the rationales extant in the legal literature. The dominant themes are that Anglo-American jurisprudence has a tradition of public participation, that the process educates the public and provides catharsis, and that the public acts to check decisionmakers and to enhance accuracy. The essay offers another explanation, i.e., that the interaction between process and public is important and assists in the development of legal norms about the merits of disputes and about how disputes should be handled. In examining which processes and the kind of role in which the public will participate, the essay notes concern for the privacy factor for the parties involved in disputes, but it also raises the importance of the public's observation of and input for justice processes other than the formal trial, such as pretrial settlements, summary judgments, court-annexed arbitration, and mediation. 122 footnotes.