bill of attainder
1
9.9
- noun
- /bɪl əv əˈteɪndər/
- Formal
:
ley de attainder
- Many legal experts argue that enacting a bill of attainder undermines the foundational principle of due process.
- prohibition on bills of attainder
- unconstitutional bill of attainder
- bill of attainder challenge
Examples
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An individual must satisfy both the specificity and punishment prongs of the test to make a successful bill of attainder challenge.
Academic text (2000) -
Further, line-of-business restrictions on corporations have been held to pose no bill of attainder concerns.
Academic text (2000) -
However, a law does not have to name specific individuals to be a bill of attainder.
Academic text (2000) -
Unless both elements are found, a law is not an unconstitutional bill of attainder.
Academic text (2000) -
The Court has relied upon the prohibition against bills of attainder only five times to strike down legislation.
Academic text (2000) -
For example, a law that punishes particularly named individuals is a bill of attainder and a violation of the Clause.
Academic text (2000) -
The original Constitution prohibited both the federal Congress and state legislatures from enacting bills of attainder.
Academic text (2004) -
The proscription against bills of attainder applies to statutes only when they inflict punishment on a specified individual or group.
Academic text (2000) -
The United States Constitution expressly prohibits the federal government from enacting bills of attainder through the Bill of Attainder Clause (Clause).
Academic text (2000) -
The Constitution clearly states that no one can be punished without trial, which is why a bill of attainder is considered unconstitutional.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Loss of rights and property after a court sentence or a special law, used in the past
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes directly from its parts: 'bill' (a legislative proposal) combined with 'attainder' (loss of civil rights through legal action) yields a legislative act that imposes attainder. This follows the regular English pattern 'bill of X' and so a learner who knows both constituents can reconstruct the MWE meaning, despite its specialized legal register.
Etymology
The term bill of attainder comes from old times when a ruler or parliament wrote a bill as a paper that declared someone under attainder, an old word for being 'guilty' and losing rights. Because that paper punished people 'without a trial', the phrase now means a law that punishes someone 'without a court'.