retroactive legislation Flashcards
what is retroactive legislation
Laws that retroactively impose punishment
what are main topics of this lecture
– contract clause
— ex post facto laws
— bills of attainder
— due process
bill of attainder
Bills of attainder are legislative acts that inflict punishment on individ- uals without a judicial trial.
who is prohibited from passing bills of attainder
Both federal and state/local governments are prohibited from passing bills of attainder
what are the due process clause considerations for retroactive legislation
If a retroactive law does not violate the Contracts, Ex Post Facto,
or Bill of Attainder Clauses, it still must pass muster under the Due Process Clause. If the retroactive law doesn’t substantially burden a fundamental right, it only needs to be rationally related to a legitimate government interest.
example of bill of attainder
federal budget law that denied salary payments to federal employees that Congress determined to be subversive.
What are ex post facto laws
a law that retroactively alters criminal offenses or punishments in a substantially prejudicial manner for the purpose of punishing a person for some past activity.
analysis for determining whether there is an ex post facto law
A statute retroactively alters a law in a substantially prejudicial manner if it:
- Makes criminal an act that was innocent when done,
- Imposes a greater punishment for an act than was imposed for the act when it was done,
OR
- Reduces the evidence required to convict a person of a crime from what was required when the act was committed
in what kinds of cases do ex post facto clauses apply
criminal cases
what is the contract clause?
The Contract Clause limits the ability of state and local governments to enact laws that retroactively impair contract rights. It doesn’t affect contracts not yet made.
the state may argue that the state law serves an important governmental interest and that it is narrowly tailored to promote that interest (10th Am.)
to whom is the contract clause applicable
state and local governments
There’s no comparable clause applicable to the federal government
how do you get the government for a contract clause violation
flagrant contract impairment would violate the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause.
