a legislative enactment by which a person, without benefit of a trial, is pronounced guilty of a crime, orig. a capital crime, esp. treason: prohibited in the U.S. by the Constitution
bill of attainder
bill of attainderWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"bill of attainder." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 23 October 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder>.
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bill of attainder. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23rd, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder
bill of attainder
noun
pl. bills of attainderA legislative act that pronounces a person guilty of a crime and imposes an attainder. The US Constitution prohibits bills of attainder.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"bill of attainder." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 23 October 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder>.
APA Style
bill of attainder. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23rd, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder
Noun
(plural bills of attainder)
- (law) A legislative determination imposing punishment without trial; prohibited under the United States Constitution.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"bill of attainder." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 23 October 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder>.
APA Style
bill of attainder. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23rd, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder
bill of attainder - Legal Definition
n
- Any legislative act that imposed a sentence of death and attainder upon one or more specific individuals or groups without a trial or other judicial proceeding.
- In United States constitutional law, any legislative act that prescribes a punishment on one or more specific individuals or groups or denies them of civil or political rights without a trial or other judicial proceeding. Such enactments are prohibited by the United States Constitution. See also attainder, bill of pains and particulars, and civil death.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"bill of attainder." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 23 October 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder>.
APA Style
bill of attainder. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23rd, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/bill-of-attainder
