The Fourteenth Amendment''s Due Process Clause spawned two related but distinct doctrines: procedural due process and substantive due process. Procedural due process requires fair procedures before the government deprives someone of life, liberty, or property, such as notice and a hearing. Substantive due process protects certain fundamental rights the government cannot infringe regardless of procedures used. While theoretically distinct, the doctrines connect through the same constitutional text and overlap when courts determine which rights deserve protection. Substantive due process also serves as the basis for incorporating most Bill of Rights protections against states. Through incorporation, the Court has applied enumerated rights like free speech and protection against unreasonable searches to state action via the Fourteenth Amendment''s Due Process Clause. This connection means substantive due process can restrict what state legislatures can do, not just how they do it, giving it significant political impact by limiting state regulatory power over private conduct.