NOUN
-
a legislative act finding a person guilty of treason or felony without a trial
bills of attainder are prohibited by the Constitution of the United States
How To Use bill of attainder In A Sentence
- When Congress singles out someone or a group to penalize, it is a bill of attainder, which is as unconstitutional as you can get. BusinessWeek.com --
- The Los Angeles Times reports that legal experts agree that the bill that passed the House on Friday would probably not be considered a bill of attainder, which is essentially a law that singles out one group for punishment and is prohibited by the Constitution. Daily Kos
- a bill of attainder, which is a punishment of particular individuals imposed not by a court of law but by a legislative body. David Drake
- So they pass a bill which is an ex post facto bill as well as a bill of attainder, which is unconstitutional, so they're using the tax code to punish people. CNN Transcript Mar 20, 2009
- As such, it sounds an awful lot like something the Constitution expressly forbids -- a bill of attainder, which is a punishment of particular individuals imposed not by a court of law but by a legislative body. Latest Articles
- Sunday's term was bill of attainder, which is defined as: Legal Definitions