Extra! Read All About It: Why Notice by Newspaper Publication Fails to Meet Mullane’s Desire-to-Inform Standard and How Modern Technology Provides A Viable Alternative

Abstract

Decades ago the Supreme Court articulated that due process requires adopting a means of service that one would naturally adopt if he actually desired to inform another. For generations newspaper publication has been allowed where the party to be notified is not known or cannot be located. But, given the rapid transformation of information dissemination over our country’s recent history, are newspapers a method that anyone would use if they truly wanted to relay information to another person?

This paper examines the shift in how American’s receive news and information in our modern society. It explores the decline in newspaper readership, the rise of Internet communication, and the historical mobility of our society. Based on the continuous decline in newspaper use and the unstoppable expansion of the Internet, this paper concludes that newspapers are not a method of communication that anyone desiring to notify another party would reasonably use. Therefore, notice by newspaper publication no longer meets the constitutional standard for due process.

This paper concludes by proposing a method of notification that embraces the new ways in which society communicates and emboldens proactive citizens to harness the power of electronic applications and services to monitor challenges to their property rights. Given the efficacy of modern-day technology in reaching people, this paper encourages the Court to modify the Federal Rules and leverage modern advancements to better protect each citizen’s constitutional right to notification and an opportunity to be heard.

Keywords: Mullane, service, process, notification, communication, federal rule, due process, newspaper, publication, internet, information