Murray Law LLC is a Denver civil rights firm representing individuals across Colorado whose constitutional due process rights have been violated by government agencies or public employers. When a federal, state, or local government entity tries to take away your job, benefits, property, or freedom without fair procedures, the Constitution offers strong protections. Our firm stands with people who need an experienced attorney to enforce those rights.

Your Constitutional Right to Due Process

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee due process of law. These protections apply whenever the government seeks to deprive a person of life, liberty, or property. Due process is your right to fair treatment before a government agency acts against you. It prevents public employers, licensing boards, schools, and law enforcement from taking something important without following legally required procedures. These rights apply to all persons in the United States, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.

What Due Process Requires

Due process ensures a fair and meaningful opportunity to be heard. At minimum, you are entitled to notice of the charges or allegations, access to the evidence against you, an opportunity to respond, and a neutral decision-maker who considers the facts. The decision must be based on the record and must include actual reasons for the outcome. The level of process you receive depends on what is at stake. When you face the potential loss of employment, a professional license, government benefits, or your physical freedom, the Constitution requires significant procedural safeguards.

Due process protections apply to three categories:

Life: Situations involving physical safety or potential loss of life.

Liberty: Your physical freedom, your ability to pursue work, and your reputation when it is harmed in a way that affects your livelihood. This includes freedom from involuntary commitment and government actions that damage your professional standing.

Property: Not only real property, but any legitimate expectation of entitlement, such as government benefits, employment protections, professional licenses, financial assets, or your home or business.

Due Process Rights in Government Employment

Public employees often have a protected property interest in their jobs when they have tenure, civil service status, or employment contracts that restrict termination. A government employer cannot fire, demote, or impose serious discipline without due process. Before termination or major discipline, you must receive notice of the proposed action and an opportunity to respond. After termination, you are typically entitled to a more extensive hearing.

Even probationary public employees may have due process rights if the allegations harm their reputation or limit their ability to work in their field.

Beyond Employment

Due process rights extend to many areas outside of the workplace:

Professional Licensing: State boards cannot revoke or suspend medical, legal, nursing, contractor, or other professional licenses without notice and a hearing.

Public Benefits: Social Security, disability, unemployment, and other government benefits cannot be terminated without due process.

Education: Students in public schools are entitled to due process before suspension or expulsion.

Property Seizure: Government agencies must follow due process before taking property through forfeiture or eminent domain.

Substantive Due Process

Due process protects more than procedures. Some rights are so fundamental that the government cannot violate them, regardless of the process used. These substantive due process rights include:

Family and Parental Rights: The right to marry, raise your children, and direct their education and upbringing.

Privacy Rights: Rights related to privacy, contraception, marriage, and intimate relationships.

Bodily Autonomy: The right to refuse unwanted medical treatment.

Personal Liberty: The right to work, travel, and be free from arbitrary physical restraint.

Political Rights: The right to participate in voting, association, and free expression.

How Murray Law LLC Helps

Due process is a cornerstone of constitutional protection. When government agencies ignore or violate these rights, individuals face consequences the law does not permit. Murray Law LLC investigates the government's actions, identifies constitutional violations, and pursues claims under federal law, including Section 1983.