attainder

at·tain·der

A0508000 (ə-tān′dər)n.1. Under English common law, the state of having lost one's legal and civil personhood, as through losing the legal capacity to own or pass on property.2. Obsolete Dishonor.

[Middle English atteindre, act of attainting, from Old French ataindre, to convict, affect, attainder; see attain.]

attainder

(əˈteɪndə) n1. (Law) (formerly) the extinction of a person's civil rights resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry on conviction for treason or felony. See also bill of attainder2. obsolete dishonour Archaic equivalent: attainture [C15: from Anglo-French attaindre to convict, from Old French ateindre to attain]

at•tain•der

(əˈteɪn dər)

n. 1. the extinction of a person's civil rights upon being sentenced to death or outlawry for treason or a felony. 2. Obs. dishonor. [1425–75; late Middle English, n. use of Anglo-French attaindre to convict, Old French ataindre to convict, attain]

Thesaurus

Noun

attainder - cancellation of civil rightscivil deathcancellation - the act of cancelling; calling off some arrangement

Translations

attainder

Attainder

At Common Law, that extinction of Civil Rights and capacities that took place whenever a person who had committed Treason or a felony received a sentence of death for the crime.

The effect of attainder upon a felon was, in general terms, that all estate, real and personal, was forfeited. In common law, attainder resulted in three ways: by confession, by verdict, and by process or outlawry. The first case was where the prisoner pleaded guilty at the bar, or having fled, confessed guilt and abjured the realm to save his or her life. The second was where the prisoner pleaded not guilty at the bar, and the jury brought in a verdict against him or her. The third, when the person accused made his or her escape and was outlawed.

In England, by statute 33 & 34 Vict. c. 23, attainder upon conviction, with consequent corruption of blood, Forfeiture, or Escheat, was abolished. In the United States, the doctrine of attainder is now scarcely known, although during and shortly after the Revolution acts of attainder were passed by several of the states. The passage of such bills is expressly forbidden by the Constitution (Art. I, Sec. 9).

Bills of attainder are special acts of the legislature that inflict capital punishments upon persons supposed to be guilty of high offenses, such as treason and felony, without any conviction in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings. If an act inflicts a milder degree of punishment than death, it is called a bill of pains and penalties, but both are included in the prohibition in the Constitution (Art. I, Sec. 9).

The term attainder is derived from attincta, Latin for stained or blackened. When attainder occurred, the condemned person was considered to bear a mark of infamy that corrupted his or her blood. Attainder was eventually abolished in England by statute.In the United States, attainder is scarcely known today, although several states enacted acts of attainder during the Revolutionary War period. A few states consider the disqualification of a person impeached and convicted to hold any government office to be a type of attainder. Attainder is akin to the concept of civil death, the forefeiture of certain rights and privileges upon conviction of a serious crime.

attainder

formerly the extinction of a person's civil rights resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry on conviction for treason or felony; an obsolete procedure not unlike IMPEACHMENT.

ATTAINDER, English criminal law. Attinctura, the stain or corruption ofblood which arises from being condemned for any crime.
2. Attainder by confession, is either by pleading guilty at the barbefore the judges, and not putting one's self on one's trial by a jury; orbefore the coroner in sanctuary, when in ancient times, the offender wasobliged to abjure the realm.
3. Attainder by verdict, is when the prisoner at the bar pleads notguilty to the indictment, and is pronounced guilty by the verdict of thejury.
4. Attainder by process or outlawry, is when the party flies, and issubsequently outlawed. Co. Lit. 391.
5. Bill of attainder, is a bill brought into parliament for attaintingpersons condemned for high treason. By the constitution of the UnitedStates, art. 1, sect. 9, Sec. 3, it is provided that no bill of attainder orex post facto law shall be passed.

attainder

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Synonyms for attainder

noun cancellation of civil rights

Synonyms

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