In Buck v. Bell(1927), the United States Supreme Court, reasoning from the procedural theory of due process, upheld the constitutionality of state laws authorizing the forcible sterilization of "mental defectives", so long as state authorities "scrupulously" complied with the dictates of due process: fair, transparent, and contestable legal proceedings. This ruling opened the door to an estimated 70,000 forcible sterilizations in the United States by the early 1980s.

InKennedy v. Louisiana(2008), the United States Supreme Court, reasoning from the substantive theory of due process, overturned the death sentence of a Louisiana man convicted of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter, declaring, "Evolving standards of decency must embrace and express respect for the dignity of the person, and the punishment of criminals must conform to that rule . . . When the law punishes by death, it risks its own sudden descent into brutality, transgressing the constitutional commitment to decency and restraint."

1. Which theory of due process do you prefer: the theory that empowers the state to sterilize people against their will in the interest of public welfare*, or the theory that safeguards the human rights of child rapists? Explain your reasoning.

*In upholding forcible sterilization, the Court reasoned that such laws were no less reasonable exercises of the states' police powers to regulate individual behavior in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare, than state laws mandating compulsory vaccinations against infectious diseases. Yes. The state can vaccinate you against your will, so long as it follows due process. SeeJacobson v. Massachusetts(1905). Keep this in mind for when a COVID-19 vaccine is finally available.