Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Florida

Re: Bills of Attainder by States

A bill of attainder is a law passed in order to disadvantage a particular person. If your state passed a law which doubled your taxes while leaving everyone else's at present levels, that would be a bill of attainder.

Treating adults and minors differently is another matter entirely, and is proper as long as there is good reason for it. We don't let minors drive, drink, vote, etc., and there is no constitutional defect in such regulations.

I'm not sure that your grandson's situation has anything to do with his age, though. The right to self defense is a limited one, and being attacked does not give the target license to do whatever he wants to the attacker. One is allowed to use enough force to defend against the attack but no more than reasonably seemed necessary at the time. My sense is that your grandson crossed the line and that this is why he is being charged.

You may remember the 1984 case of Bernard Goetz, the so-called "subway vigilante" who shot several men who were apparently about to rob him on a New York subway train. No one questioned his right to defend himself, but it seemed quite unreasonable to actually shoot people under the circumstances and he was charged with assault and attempted murder. He was later acquitted on these charges, but the principle is the same as in your grandson's case.