bill of attainder

American

noun

an act of legislature finding a person guilty of treason or felony without trial.

bill of attainder British

noun

(formerly) a legislative act finding a person guilty without trial of treason or felony and declaring him attainted See also attainder

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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bill of attainder

Judge Talwani still saw the law as a bill of attainder.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2025

And the Supreme Court may not see this law as a bill of attainder either.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2025

A bill of attainder is a law that convicts or punishes someone for a crime without a trial, a tactic used fairly frequently in England against the king’s enemies.

From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021

A bill of attainder is an unconstitutional legislative act that singles out an individual or group for punishment without a trial.

From Fox News ● Apr. 8, 2019

State shall pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023