People v. Ramirez

Opinion

MOSK, J.

In this case we review the scope of the due process clauses of the California Constitution. (Cal. Const., art. I, § 7 subd. (a); id., § 15.) We hold that application of the clauses must be deter*264mined in the context of the individual’s due process liberty interest in freedom from arbitrary adjudicative procedures. Thus, when a person is deprived of a statutorily conferred benefit, due process analysis must start not with a judicial attempt to decide whether the statute has created an “entitlement” that can be defined as “liberty” or “property,” but with an assessment of what…