Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California
Under the Constitution, no bill of attainder should be passed by any state or by Congress. By that logic, isn't it illegal to pass a law declaring that cop killers should automatically be given the death penalty? It's possible I'm confused about the definition of a bill of attainder, but I'd like clarification in that case.
1 Answer from Attorneys
A bill of attainder is a law aimed at a particular person or entity. For example, a law specifically exempting you from the income tax (or specifically requiring you to pay more than would others earning similar amounts) would qualify. The law you describe would not.
There are statutes describing the penalty for every crime in every state. A law that says murdering a police officer is punishable only by death would be such a law. In principle it is no different from a law that says, say, stealing less than $500 is punishable only by 30 days in jail. Either of these laws might or might not be wise, but neither of them would be a bill of attainder.
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