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Doctrine

Bill of attainder

Constitutional, Administrative and Public Law Doctrine
Origin 1321, England (first recorded use, medieval period)

A bill of attainder is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of a crime without a trial, and it nullifies the civil rights of those named, in particular their rights to own and inherit property. The practice has its origins in English history, with the first recorded use in 1321 against Hugh le Despenser and his son for supporting King Edward II, and it grew increasingly controversial for its potential for abuse and its conflict with due process and the separation of powers. American colonists strongly opposed legislative punishment of this kind, and the United States Constitution explicitly bans bills of attainder at both the federal level, in Article I, Section 9, and the state level, in Article I, Section 10, with every state's own constitution also expressly forbidding them. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Origin Period
1321, England (first recorded use, medieval period) 1
Core Principle
Legislative declaration of guilt and punishment without a judicial trial 1
Origin Period
Origin Period (category)
Medieval / Pre-1500 1
Classification
Doctrine Category
Constitutional Law 2
Connections

In Area Of Law

Constitutional Law, Doctrines

Entity-backed identity for the doctrine category value this doctrine already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a doctrine entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Sources
1. Bill of attainder (Wikipedia)
  • English law section (under United Kingdom)
    The first use of a bill of attainder was in 1321 against Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester
  • Lead section
    an act of a legislature declaring a person (or group of people), guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a trial
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Bill of attainder
an act of a legislature declaring a person guilty of some crime and providing for a punishment, often without a trial; forbidden by the United States ConstitutionView the Source
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