The Supreme Court in the Era of Bifurcated Review III

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s decisions interpreting the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments followed an uneven pattern in the period covered in this volume. From a posture of aggressive review in cases posing due process challenges to state and judicial legislation, the court retreated to one of deference when the legislation affected “social and economic transactions.” But in other cases, such as when free speech and freedom of religion were restricted by legislative or administrative policies, the Court retained an aggressive posture. Eventually, after initially announcing that it eschewed “substantive” interpretations of the Due Process Clauses, the Court began advancing those interpretations in cases involving restrictions on the use of contraceptives and abortion decisions.