Substantive Due Process

Substantive Due Process

• Definition: Overturning a guilty verdict based on violations of due process rights.

• Case Study: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Bill Cosby (2021)

  • Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

  • Justice: David Norman Wecht

  • Key Finding: When a prosecutor makes an unconditional promise of non-prosecution and a defendant relies on that promise, fundamental fairness demands enforcement of that promise.

Procedural Due Process / Substantive Due Process in Civil Lawsuits

• Civil Remedies

  • Types of damages:

    • Compensatory (actual) damages

    • Punitive damages

Case Study: BMW v. Gore (1996)

• BMW's Policy: 3% non-disclosure policy on vehicle damage

• Gore's Purchase: BMW sports sedan, cost $40,750.88

• Damage Details:

  • Acid rain damage during transport; repair costs: $601.37 (1.5% of car value)

• Lawsuit Outcome:

  • Jury's compensatory damages award: $4,000 (10% diminution of car value)

  • Jury's punitive damages award: $4 million

  • Alabama Supreme Court reduced punitive damages to: $2 million (500x actual damages)

• Appeal Outcome:

  • Case appealed to the US Supreme Court.

  • Ruling: Punitive damages deemed "grossly excessive" and established a "zone of arbitrariness."

  • Single Digit Multiplier Rule: Punitive damages should be a multiplier of less than 10 times the actual damages (9.9x).