Questions tagged [ex-post-facto]

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14 votes
6 answers
7k views

Can someone be prosecuted for something that was legal when they did it?

This sounds similar to this question, which keeps being used in AI and web search queries: What if I did something that was a crime, but has now become legal? Can someone be prosecuted for something ...
user1867437's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
3k views

Can penalties be increased retroactively by statutes?

Would a law retroactively increasing the penalties for a crime, but not criminalizing any formerly legal action, be constitutional, or would it be considered ex post facto?
Someone's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
690 views

Can abortion laws which were made legal to prosecute be applied ex post facto?

Normally, a person cannot be charged with a crime if the statute outlawing their behavior was passed after they committed it, states and Congress are barred by the US Constitution from enforcing such ...
IllusiveBrian's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
171 views

Would "ex post facto" apply to tax deduction laws?

Yesterday I had a discussion with my colleague. This year I am traveling rather large distances for work. My colleague asked me how I can bear the costs of travel. I told her it is ok, because the ...
Fiksdal's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
166 views

How was retroactive copyright extension ever approved of?

In the US, copyright has been retroactively extended multiple times. Steamboat Willie for example has repeatedly been snatched away from the public domain in the last minute. It was first due to enter ...
Johan Walles's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
135 views

Is the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act violative of fundamental rights?

On July 31, 2019, Government of India published the concerned Act in its official gazette. Article 4 in the Act has penal provisions which turns the act of declaring instantaneous unilateral divorce ...
Firelord's user avatar
  • 319
1 vote
2 answers
119 views

Limitations or exceptions at the state level to ex post facto laws?

There is a local (but nationally recognized) law firm that has this commercial. The "meat" of the commercial is this: A biker is injured and the law firm goes after the insurance company. Company ...
Ron Beyer's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
68 views

Would a law that increased penalties for actions taken before its passage be considered ex post facto?

Suppose a new law was passed in a US state banning jaywalking, which was not previously illegal in this state. (That's just a random example; the particular offense is not relevant.) It is common for ...
Someone's user avatar
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