Some background should be helpful. The “due process clause” of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution imposes limits on actions by the national government and the Fourteenth Amendment provides similar limitations on action by states. The due process clause has considerable application in both civil and criminal cases. Boiled down to its essence, the “due process clause” in each amendment prohibits government from acting unfairly or arbitrarily in dealing with people. When a state requires a person to defend against a civil claim in its courts, there must be some connection between the civil defendant and the state that purports to exercise jurisdiction over him. A court lacks power to adjudicate the rights and liabilities of persons over whom it has no jurisdiction, and it is considered unfair to make a person litigate in a state with which he has no connection. In order to satisfy the due process requirement so as to allow a court in a state to exercise jurisdiction over that person, that person must have “minimum contacts” with that state.