Attainder, << uh TAYN duhr, >> is a legal term for the loss of civil rights by an outlawed person or a person sentenced to death. According to old English law, such people lost their rights to property. Their land and personal belongings were taken from them. Because they were judged to have suffered tainting (corruption of blood), they could not inherit property or leave property to anyone. Parliament put an end to attainder in Britain in 1870, and now almost all countries have abolished it. In the United States, people may lose their civil rights for the crime of treason, but the Constitution (Article III, Section 3 [2]) states their punishment may not affect their families, who may inherit their property.
A bill of attainder is an act passed by a legislature which attaints some person or group and thus takes away property and civil rights without a trial. To be classified as a bill of attainder, the act must punish. Mere regulations are not considered bills of attainder. Bills of attainder are not legal in most countries. In the United States, the Constitution (Article I, Section 9 [3]) prohibits the nation or any state from passing such a bill.
After the American Civil War (1861-1865), Congress passed a law taking away the property of some people it called rebels. But the courts held that Congress could only take the rents or income from such property during the lifetime of the rebels, and could not deprive their heirs of the property.
