However, when one looks at the concept of due process, one is destined to find that the term is not susceptible to an exact, strict, all-inclusive, or concrete definition. Part of the majesty of the concept is that it is too broad to admit of a short definition that embraces every situation, and that any definition must depend on the relation a particular act bears to the fundamental law that limits legislative power. A specific and well known quote by Judge Thomas Cooley stated that "due process of law in each particular case means such an exertion of the powers of government as the settled maxims of law permit and sanction, and under such safeguards for the protection of individual rights as those maxims prescribe for the class of cases to which the one in question belongs. Where doubt exists, law and government are encumbered to come down on the side of individual liberty" (Thomas, 2003). By looking to the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendments and the cases that have set the precedents of law the concept of due process can be explained and be better understood.
One large principle of due process in relation to the criminal justice system is in the fourth amendment of the U.S Constitution. The fourth amendment states "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.". The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution places limits on the power of the police to make arrests; search people and their property; and seize objects documents and contraband, such as illegal drugs or weapons. The search and seizure provisions of the Fourth Amendment are all about privacy. Privacy in this circumstance is defined as the freedom to decide which details of your life will be revealed to the public and which will be revealed only to those you care to share them with.
