The Constitution
bill of attainder
A legislative act that punishes a named person or group without a trial. Prohibited to both Congress and the states.
In full
The ban is a separation-of-powers rule as much as a rights protection: punishment is for courts after trial, not for legislatures by vote. It has been applied to bar Congress from denying salary to named federal employees and from disqualifying members of a specific group from office, and it is raised whenever legislation singles out identifiable parties for burdens.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.