ex post facto

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Related to ex post facto: Ex post facto law

ex post facto

adj. Latin for "after the fact," which refers to laws adopted after an act is committed making it illegal although it was legal when done, or increases the penalty for a crime after it is committed. Such laws are specifically prohibited by the U. S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9. Therefore, if a state legislature or Congress enact new rules of proof or longer sentences, those new rules or sentences do not apply to crimes committed before the new law was adopted.

ex post facto

adjective affecting a previous act, after, after the act is committed, after the fact, afterward, at a later period, at a later time, at a subsequent period, at a succeeding time, directly after, following in time, later, later in time, retroactive, thereafter
Associated concepts: ex post facto law

EX POST FACTO, contracts, crim. law. This is a technical expression, which signifies, that something has been done after another thing, in relation to the latter.
     2. An estate granted, may be made good or avoided by matter ex post facto, when an election is given to the party to accept or not to accept. 1 Co. 146.
     3. The Constitution of the United States, art. 1, sec. 10, forbids the states to pass any ex post facto law; which has been defined to be one which renders the act punishable in a manner in which it was not punishable when it was committed. 6 Cranch, 138. This definition extends to laws passed after the act, and affecting a person by way of punishment of that act, either in his person or estate. 3 Dall. 386; 1 Blackf. Ind. R. 193 2 Pet. U. S. Rep. 413 1 Kent, Com. 408; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.
     4. This prohibition in the constitution against passing ex post facto law's, applies exclusively to criminal or penal cases, and not to civil cases. Serg. Const. Law, 356. Vide 2 Pick. R. 172; 11 Pick. R. 28; 2 Root, R. 350; 5 Monr. 133; 9 Mass. R. 363; 3 N. H. Rep. 475; 7 John. R. 488; 6 Binn. R. 271; 1 J. J. Marsh, 563; 2 Pet. R. 681; and the article Retrospective.

References in periodicals archive ?

12) Next, this Note examines generally the legal background and history of bans on ex post facto laws and on laws retrospective in their operation in Missouri.

Civil or criminal? Deciding whether a law may be applied retrospectively yet constitutionally in Missouri

First, the meaning and importance of the Ex Post Facto Clause is presented, including the specific prohibition of statutes deemed punitive.

Forfeiting sex offenders' constitutional rights due to the stigma of their crimes? State v. Trosclair

Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from passing any ex post facto laws.

Criminal law - Fourth Circuit holds retroactive application of federal sentencing guidelines amendments violates ex post facto clause

5) The United States Constitution contains two Ex Post Facto clauses with the first applying to the federal government and the second applying to the states.

Stogner v. California: a collision between the ex post facto clause and California's interest in protecting child sex abuse victims

Some of the earliest Supreme Court cases dealt with the Ex Post Facto Clause and explained the importance of the provision.

Constitution bars prosecution of long-ago child abusers

He claimed that he had committed no violation because the lead-based paint had been applied before it became unlawful, and he was protected by the ex post facto clauses.

Language and the law. (Legal Briefs)

The Court also found there was no violation of the Constitution's ex post facto clause that forbids the enactment of new laws that extend punishment for past crimes.

Supreme Court cases: 1996-1997 term

In that regard, the focal point of our management style is preventative maintenance - the practice of maintaining a building's health by spending money on repairs before a crisis occurs, thereby saving boards unnecessary and costly dollars ex post facto.

Preventive maintenance key to building's health

He traces the rise and fall of the Article, particularly what he considers its most important provisions: the Contract Clause, the Bill of Attainder and Ex Post Facto Clause, the non-retroactive provisions, the Import-Export Clause, and the Interstate Compact Clause.

Limits on states; a reference guide to the United States Constitution

The purpose of this literature review and Ex Post Facto descriptive study was to determine which type of benchmark assessment, multiple-choice or project-based, provides the best indication of general success on the history portion of the CST (California Standards Tests).

A Better Benchmark Assessment: Multiple-Choice versus Project-Based

The court held that a change of parole rules, from a system that would have allowed for the grant of parole to a particular prisoner, to a system which did not allow for parole for that prisoner based upon the same facts, did not deprive the prisoner of a mandatory right to parole and therefore did not violate the ex post facto clause.

Pindle v. Poteat

In violation of the Constitution's prohibition against ex post facto laws, Felt and Miller were indicted in April 1978 of violating administrative guidelines enacted by Levi in 1976.

Watergate & the weather underground: former FBI second-in-command Mark Felt, aka Watergate's "Deep Throat," was an opponent of both presidential corruption and domestic terrorism