EX POST FACTO CLAUSE - A misnomer in that actually two Constitutional clauses are involved. The U.S. Constitution's Article 1 Section 9, C.3 states: 'No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed,...' 'The 'words and the intent' of the Ex Post Facto Clause encompass '[e]very law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed.' Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. (1 Dall.) 386, 390 (1798) (opinion of Chase, J.).An ex post facto law is a law passed after the occurrence of an event or action which retrospectively changes the legal consequences of the event or action.
The preceeding quote and subsequent opinion of Justice Chase, J, explain the purpose of the Ex Post Facto Clause as applied to criminal or legal proceedings for the United States. As such, it is the law of the land, permanently enshrined in that most holy of American legal documents, The Constitution. The US Constitution is the legal document from which all of our laws eminate; as well as the document which by legal standards cannot be violated. Yet, in our current system of government, it is violated consistently.
Jason Burkos
Showing posts with label Ex Post Facto Clause. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ex Post Facto Clause. Show all posts
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