Prohibited Legislation

Question 1

What are bills of attainder?

Answer 1

A legislative act that declares a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishes them without a trial.

Question 2

When are bills of attainder a form of prohibited legislation?

Answer 2

Applies only to criminal or penal measures.

Question 3

When are ex post facto laws a form of prohibited legislation?

Answer 3

They are a form of prohibited legislation when
-> it criminalizes an act that was not a crime when it was originally committed
-> authorizes a more severe penalty after an act was committed
-> deprives D of a defense available when the act was committed
OR
-> decreases the prosecution’s burden of proof below that required when the act was committed

Question 4

What does the Contracts Clause do?

When does it apply and to who?

When does it not apply?

Answer 4

It prohibits the states from passing any law “impairing the obligation of contracts.”

It only applies to state legislation
-> not state-court decisions and not federal legislation
that retroactively impairs contractual rights.

Does not apply to contracts not yet entered into.