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Simple English definitions for legal terms

bill of attainder

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A quick definition of bill of attainder:

A bill of attainder is a law that says someone is guilty of a crime without giving them a fair trial. This is not allowed in the United States because it goes against the Constitution. The Constitution says that bills of attainder are not allowed because they let the government punish people without going through the right process. Courts use a test to see if a law is a bill of attainder. They look at whether the law punishes someone, targets specific people, and takes away their legal protections. If a law is a bill of attainder, it is not allowed.

A more thorough explanation:

A bill of attainder is a type of law that declares a person or group guilty of a crime without a trial. This means that the government can punish someone without giving them a fair chance to defend themselves in court. In the United States, bills of attainder are not allowed because they violate the Constitution.

For example, imagine that the government passes a law that says John Smith is guilty of stealing a car. Even though John has not been to court and found guilty, he is now considered a criminal and can be punished. This is not fair because John did not have a chance to defend himself in court.

The Constitution says that bills of attainder are not allowed because they go against the idea of separation of powers. This means that the government cannot take on the role of the courts and punish people without a fair trial.

To determine if a law is a bill of attainder, courts use a three-part test:

  1. The law inflicts punishment.
  2. The law targets specific named or identifiable individuals or groups.
  3. Those individuals or groups would otherwise have judicial protections.

For example, if a law says that all people with the last name Smith are not allowed to vote, this would be a bill of attainder because it targets a specific group of people and takes away their right to vote without a fair trial.

bill | bill of exceptions

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MIAMI A
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:55
How does one know if they are UR1 or UR2?
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:56
CONGRATS MACAQUE!
TY
got a random stanford email and almost had a heart attack
ALSO CONGRATS!
Congrats1!
21:15
Miami A, yall I'm so excited I could cry.
21:15
Feel like I can finally stop holding my breath!! Whew!!!
[] baddestbunny
22:16
every time I get accosted by a strange man who follows me around because my male coworkers were too busy talking to walk me back to my car I get closer to saying we need to bring back traditional gender roles
Dkk
22:32
Nice! @Macaque
Dkk
22:32
@Aromatic, Have to guess.
Dkk
22:33
That sucks @Bunny do you have to go to the hospital?
[] baddestbunny
22:40
I said accosted not assaulted
23:35
guys. my notre dame address just went long is this good or bad
1a2b3c4d26z
23:37
Oooooo me too
23:37
omg is this good or bad
Dkk
23:47
Idk if gender roles are gunna fix that then.
23:49
it looks like most people who applied in october last cycle didn't get a decision until january... does it even mean anything that our addresses went long??
hows ED 2 compared to ED 1?
Dkk
0:10
No idea
windyMagician
0:34
reporting live to say my ndls address also went long
does it mean anything ^
Dkk
2:21
NDLS and Fordham took a very long time last year. It's good info for people to know.
[] baddestbunny
4:29
let’s get after it boys and girls
Dkk
5:21
I gtg to bed soon.
Dkk
5:22
Big day today. Gunna be a crazy one. I will sleep through the first half.
good morning lsd it is 5 am EST
also jazzy my ndls address went long ages ago i sadly do not think it means anything
my stanford address also went long LOL i think at most it's an indicator it's under review
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