bill of attainder

The legislation was also expected to face legal hurdles on First Amendment grounds as well as “bills of attainder” laws prohibiting the government from imposing a punishment on a specific entity without a formal trial.

According to Mr. Dershowitz, the panel operated against the spirit of one of only two civil-liberties provisions in the original Constitution, before the Bill of Rights was added — a ban on “bills of attainder.”

It would violate the separation of powers, the supremacy clause, the confrontation clause, the equal protection clause, the due process clause and the prohibition against bills of attainder.

Next, the constitution specifically prohibits a type of law known as a “bill of attainder,” which is aimed at punishing specific individuals.

Such a move could be seen as an unlawful “bill of attainder,” or a legislative act condemning a particular person, he said.