Focal Point - Process

The need for due process is difficult for some to grasp.  If the law achieves the desired result why should the means be a consideration?  The Pragmatists the due process as means of achieving what they believe to be the ultimate purpose of law, protection of individual rights.   Without due process the individual is not guaranteed the protection of law.  In essence due process means a fair hearing.  There is a process to be followed in the hearing.  If the process is not followed, then the fairness of the hearing may be jeopardized.   The courts since the 1914 have been expanding the concept of due process to extend beyond hearings into the entire processing of criminal offenders.  Objections have mounted claiming that offenders have more rights than victims.  This, of course, is not true, but the focus upon the process appears to be slanted more toward the offender than the victim.

Successful law enforcement for the Pragmatist is not whether crime is controlled, but whether the processing of the criminal offender followed the prescribed process.  If the process has been followed the Pragmatist is willing to accept the product of the law.