OUR CONNECTICUT CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!

I finally found it! The Connecticut Right to Due Process!  This has to do with the concept that legal proceedings will not be arbitrary, that they will be conducted fairly according to agreed upon procedures.

For example, handing you a motion just before you walk into the trial court is a denial of your due process rights because doing so prevents you from having reasonable advanced notice of the charges against you.

If you were wondering, our Connecticut Right to Due Process as incorporated into the Connecticut Constitution is located in Article I, Section 10 of that document and states as follows: 

"All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done to him in his person, property or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay."

I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with that statement.  It seems a little wishy washy, but it is the only one we have. 

I like the statement by the United States Supreme Court in 1934.  It said due process is violated "if a practice or rule offends some principles of justice so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental."

On the Federal Level the due process clause is included in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution as follows:

[N]or shall any person. . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. . .

Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: 

[N]or shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. . .

Somehow the Federal version seems stronger to me than the State version.  Ultimately,  both guarantee our due process rights.

Equal Protection of the Law

By the way, I enjoyed Article I, Section 20 of the Connecticut Constitution which states as follows: 

"No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex or physical or mental disability."

This includes our right to ADA protection.