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An ex post facto law is one that is made retroactive to punish an act that wasn't illegal at the time it was committed. For example, if I didn't wear my seatbelt and wearing one wasn't a law, but it became a law the next day, I couldn't get in trouble for it because the "crime" was committed before it was against the law.
Article I of the US Constitution specifically says this cannot be done. Laws that don't involve penalties can reference dates in the past to allow an income tax break or permit eligibility for a program based on past actions (such as fighting in a war).
The reason the Constitution prevents Congress (and the states) from writing ex post facto laws is to protect the population and other entities from government abuse.
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∙ 7y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoEx post facto is a Latin term meaning "after the fact." Ex-Post Facto Law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of acts committed, or the legal status of facts and relationships that existed, prior to the enactment of the law.
In the U.S ex-post facto criminal laws are prohibited under the Constitution. Article I, section 10.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoFor instance , congress can not pass a law that turns an act into a law.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago"Ex post facto law" is a concept prohibited by the Constitution. It means that a law cannot be passed that punishes you for something you did while it was still legal.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoAn "ex post facto" or "after the fact" law is one written to forbid and make criminal acts that have already been done. These are banned by the Constitution.
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What type of law punishes a person for doing something that was not illegal at the time it was done?
That would be making a law retroactive to a date before the passing of the law. The US Constitution forbids doing it. That would be known as an Ex Post Facto Law and is unconstitutional.
What is an example of ex post facto law?
An ex post facto law (from the Latin for "from after the action") or retroactive law, is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law. In reference to criminal law, it may criminalize actions that were legal when committed; or it may aggravate a crime by bringing it into a more severe category than it was in at the time it was committed; or it may change or increase the punishment prescribed for a crime, such as by adding new penalties or extending terms; or it may alter the rules of evidence in order to make conviction for a crime more likely than it would have been at the time of the action for which a defendant is prosecuted. Conversely, a form of ex post facto law commonly known as an amnesty law may decriminalize certain acts or alleviate possible punishments (for example by replacing the death sentence with life-long imprisonment) retroactively.
What term means to punish someone for something that was not illegal when it was done?
The legal term for a law that has criminal penalties that effect people prior to the enactment of that law is called an "ex-post facto law". Ex-post facto laws are illegal in most countries and the US Constitution expressly forbids the creation or passage of an ex-post facto law.
What is name of a law that makes something a crime after the fact?
Ex Post Facto law "Congress shall pass no Ex Post Facto law", I believe is how it appears in the constitution. It is latin for after the fact.
De facto segregation is when people are separate in fact but not by?
the answer is law
Ex de facto?
The Ex Post Facto law is a law that can go backward and change the legal consequences. In Latin, it means "after the facts."
Explain ex post facto?
"Ex post facto" is a term at law most prominently seen textually in the United States Constitution. It has been specifically interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States in U.S. Constitutional law.Article I, section 9 of the U.S. Constitution sets forth that"[n]o Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."Article I, section 10, clause 1, sets forth that"[n]o State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.""Ex post facto" is law Latin. It literally means "after the fact". An ex post facto law is a law that criminalizes or decriminalizes, retroactively, some specified conduct.The ex post facto clauses have been interpreted liberally by the Court. These decisions have specifically prohibited retroactive criminal laws, including rules of evidence that would reasonably facilitate, to a greater extent than previously, a conviction.
A retroactive criminal law is called a?
Ex post facto law
A law passed making something illegal after the fact?
Such a law is called Ex Post Facto.
A law to punish a person for something that was not against the law when he or she did it is called?
Export facto law
A law to punish a man for something that was not against the law when he did it is called ______________.?
An "ex post facto" law
Is it true an ex post facto law is a law that makes an act illegal after the act has been committed?
Yes, an ex post facto law cannot impose punishment on a person who committed an act before it was illegal. This includes increasing the severity of the punishment from what it was when the crime was committed. Ex post facto applies to criminal law and not civil law as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, some laws, for example the sex offenders registry, are considered a regulatory device for public safety and not a punitive action. no ex-post facto law after the fact. no ex-post facto law after the fact.
