Ex parte Garland
Quick Summary
Ex parte Garland was a significant U.S. Supreme Court case decided in 1867. The Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from passing bills of attainder, which are legislative acts that declare a person guilty of a crime and impose punishment without a judicial trial.1
The case involved Augustus Garland, a lawyer who had been a Confederate sympathizer. He sought to practice law in federal court but was prevented by a loyalty oath required by Congress after the American Civil War. The Supreme Court found this oath unconstitutional, as it functioned as a bill of attainder by imposing punishment (disqualification from a profession) without due process. This ruling affirmed that individuals cannot be retroactively punished or barred from their professions based on past associations or actions without a proper trial.1
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- attainder
Missouri and Ex parte Garland to strike down loyalty oaths passed after the American Civil War to disqualify Confederate sympathizers from practicing certain professions. Similarly, in United States v. Lovett (1946), the court invalidated as a bill of attainder a section of an appropriation bill forbidding the…
Read MoreMissouri and Ex parte Garland to strike down loyalty oaths passed after the American Civil War to disqualify Confederate sympathizers from practicing certain professions. Similarly, in United States v. Lovett (1946), the court invalidated as a bill of attainder a section of an appropriation bill forbidding the…
Read More - ex post facto law
Missouri and Ex parte Garland, the United States Supreme Court condemned as both bills of attainder and ex post facto laws the passage of post-American Civil War loyalty-test oaths, which were designed to keep Confederate sympathizers from practicing certain professions.
Read MoreMissouri and Ex parte Garland, the United States Supreme Court condemned as both bills of attainder and ex post facto laws the passage of post-American Civil War loyalty-test oaths, which were designed to keep Confederate sympathizers from practicing certain professions.
Read More