A.  identify life, liberty or property interest
1.   liberally construed
2.    property:  something that gives rise to a legal entitlement; more than mere unilateral expectation
3.    reputation:  reputation alone is not a liberty interest that will get you a hearing unless there is a plus factor that goes along with it (like lost job; no promotions, etc)
4.    you may have a liberty interest in getting a job b/c now state did something that was injurious to your rep. w/o dp (med student case)
5.    all have their genesis in state law
a.    state statutes
b.    even traditions
6.    in id’ing the interest it’s not the weight to be attached to the interest (it is not the importance of the interest), but rather the nature of the interest
B.  what process is due?
1.  hearing before or after taking?  Matthews v. Eldridge
a.     private interest that will be affected by the official action
b.    the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probably value, if any, of the additional procedural safeguards
c.    government’s interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the add’l or substitute procedural requirement would entail
2.    use common sense
3.    referencing a statute w/ proper procedures is enough to comport w/ DP (state not req’d to be private man’s atty)
C.  welfare benefits is a property entitlement
a.    notice (and specificity)
b.    opp. to confront and cross-ex adverse witnesses
c.    fair and impartial hearing officer
d.    determination based upon the record actually presented
e.    then if they take away benefits, the taking is commensurate with dp
D.  public school education
a.  oral or written notice of the charges
b.  summary of the allegations against the child
if confesses => can expel
if denies => student must have an opp. to tell his version
c.  exception: if he is dangerous, expel him now and give him process later
d.  common sense!  sliding scale:  the more serious, the more process req’d
f.      penalty beyond 10 days:  then you better give him the full spectrum of procedural guarantees
g.  corporal punishment exception:  historically allowed by schoolmaster; c/L tort remedies are enough dp
E.  bitter with the sweet doctrine:  state can create a right, but can’t say what process is due to take it away
F.  must truly be a taking – not a miscellaneous interruption (lawyer asked questions case)
G.  the cases:
1.  Goldberg:  welfare benefits were property interest b/c more than unilateral expectation
2.  Roth:  professor had no property interest in his job
3.  Perry v. Sinderman:  de facto tenure after 7 years did give rise to legit. entitlement to get tenure & this req’d DP procedures (entitlement by virtue of custom)
4.  Bishop v. Wood:  cop fired w/o hearing; not a property interest b/c employment-at-will state; damage to repuation claim failed b/c it was not public knowledge
5.  Paul v. Davis:  P published in local cop’s “shoplifter book”; damage to reputation alone not property interest; maybe would become ripe later if he couldn’t get a job.
6.  Goss v. Lopez:  suspension of child w/o hearing was dp violation b/c entitled to education
7.  Ingram v. Wright:  corporal punishment was liberty interest in being free from bodily harm, but this did not require dp b/c of c/L tradition allowing schoolmaster to punish
8.  Horowitz:  terminated in last semester at med school; ct found dp was comported with; not decided whether this was a property interest; Guinn says this was not a property interest b/c no entitlement to be in med school; if she later couldn’t get job, probably was a liberty interest in reputation harm