Ex post facto law — An ex post facto law (from the Latin for after the fact ) or retroactive law, is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of acts committed or the legal status of facts and relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the… … Wikipedia
ex post facto law — law that retroactively makes criminal conduct that was not criminal when performed, increases the punishment for crimes already committed, or changes the rules of procedure in force at the time an alleged crime was committed in a way… … Universalium
ex post facto law — n: a civil or criminal law with retroactive effect; esp: a law that retroactively alters a defendant s rights esp. by criminalizing and imposing punishment for an act that was not criminal or punishable at the time it was committed, by increasing … Law dictionary
Ex post facto — Ex post fac to, or ||Ex postfacto Ex post fac to ([e^]ks p[=o]st f[a^]k t[ o]). [L., from what is done afterwards.] (Law) From or by an after act, or thing done afterward; in consequence of a subsequent act; retrospective. {Ex post facto law}, a… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Ex post facto law — Ex post facto Ex post fac to, or ||Ex postfacto Ex post fac to ([e^]ks p[=o]st f[a^]k t[ o]). [L., from what is done afterwards.] (Law) From or by an after act, or thing done afterward; in consequence of a subsequent act; retrospective. {Ex post… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
ex post facto law — /eks powst faektow 16/ A law passed after the occurrence of a fact or commission of an act, which retrospectively changes the legal consequences or relations of such fact or deed. A law is unconstitutionally ex post facto if it deprives the… … Black's law dictionary
ex post facto law — /eks powst faektow 16/ A law passed after the occurrence of a fact or commission of an act, which retrospectively changes the legal consequences or relations of such fact or deed. A law is unconstitutionally ex post facto if it deprives the… … Black's law dictionary
ex post facto clause — n often cap E&P&F&C: the clause in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution forbidding Congress from passing any ex post facto laws Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 … Law dictionary
ex post facto — is a legal phrase meaning ‘with retrospective action or force’, as in increasing its guilt ex post facto / ex post facto laws. Strictly speaking, as Fowler (1926) noted, the spelling should be ex postfacto (meaning ‘on the basis of the later… … Modern English usage
ex post facto — I. adverb Etymology: Late Latin, literally, from a thing done afterward Date: 1621 after the fact ; retroactively II. adjective Date: 1787 done, made, or formulated after the fact ; retroactive < ex post facto approval > … New Collegiate Dictionary
