| n. | 1. | The act of attainting, or the state of being attainted; the extinction of the civil rights and capacities of a person, consequent upon sentence of death or outlawry; | |||
| 2. | A stain or staining; state of being in dishonor or condemnation.
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| Noun | 1. | attainder - cancellation of civil rights Synonyms: civil death |
ATTAINDER, English criminal law. Attinctura, the stain or corruption of
blood which arises from being condemned for any crime.
2. Attainder by confession, is either by pleading guilty at the bar
before the judges, and not putting one's self on one's trial by a jury; or
before the coroner in sanctuary, when in ancient times, the offender was
obliged to abjure the realm.
3. Attainder by verdict, is when the prisoner at the bar pleads not
guilty to the indictment, and is pronounced guilty by the verdict of the
jury.
4. Attainder by process or outlawry, is when the party flies, and is
subsequently outlawed. Co. Lit. 391.
5. Bill of attainder, is a bill brought into parliament for attainting
persons condemned for high treason. By the constitution of the United
States, art. 1, sect. 9, Sec. 3, it is provided that no bill of attainder or
ex post facto law shall be passed.
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