B.2(i). No Bills of Attainder

The Government may not enact a Bill of Attainder.

This right has been part of our legal landscape all along. The courts have relied on it in several instances. It protected professionals in the post-Civil War era. [1] These constitutional protections were invoked in United States v. Lovett, [2] as well as in United States v. Brown. [3] Concerns about bills of attainder protected recipients of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). [4] Finally, it has been invoked to oppose President Trump’s Executive Order against Perkins Coie. [5] This right has been active. It is included here precisely because it works.

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[1] See Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. 333 (1866) and Cummings v. Missouri, 71 U.S. 277 (1867).

[2] United States v. Lovett, 328 U.S. 303 (1946).

[3] United States v. Brown, 381 U.S. 437 (1965).

[4] This raised bill of attainder concerns, but it never went to court, since the legislation was dropped.

[5] See Executive Order 14230, “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP,” signed March 6, 2025 and Perkins Coie LLP v. U.S. Department of Justice, No. 1:25-cv-00716 (D.D.C. 2025).