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**ahagotyou** · 01-21-2007, 01:07 AM

The term 'ex post facto' literally means "from something done afterward" but it was always a technical term in criminal law.

The inapplicability of the clause to civil matters and what aspects it refers to in the criminal law was explained and resolved by the SCOTUS in the case of Calder v. Bull in 1798, almost right after the Constitution was ratified.

In the court's words, the ex post facto clause is implicated in the following circumstances:

The opinion can be found here:

Calder v. Bull

That decision was about the ex post facto clause in section 10.

I was talking about section 9.

In other words, you cannot make a law that punishes someone for something that was done before that law was passed.

01-21-2007, 01:07 AM	#11
ahagotyou Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 571 Senior Member	The term 'ex post facto' literally means "from something done afterward" but it was always a technical term in criminal law. The inapplicability of the clause to civil matters and what aspects it refers to in the criminal law was explained and resolved by the SCOTUS in the case of Calder v. Bull in 1798, almost right after the Constitution was ratified. In the court's words, the ex post facto clause is implicated in the following circumstances: The opinion can be found here: Calder v. Bull That decision was about the ex post facto clause in section 10. I was talking about section 9. In other words, you cannot make a law that punishes someone for something that was done before that law was passed.
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