Criminal Justice Assignment: Ex Post Facto Laws and Implications

This assignment provides an analysis of ex post facto laws within the context of criminal justice. The paper begins with a definition of ex post facto laws and explains how they relate to the ex post facto clause in the United States Constitution, focusing on how this clause prohibits states from punishing individuals for actions that were legal when committed. The assignment further explores the public policy reasons that limit ex post facto laws, emphasizing the principle that individuals should not be penalized for actions that were not illegal at the time they were performed. The advantages and disadvantages of prohibiting the enforcement of ex post facto laws are examined, considering both constitutional implications and the potential for holding criminals accountable. Finally, the assignment draws a comparison between ex post facto laws and biblical principles, arguing that the prohibition of such laws aligns with a biblical worldview. The assignment concludes by providing a list of references to support its arguments.

Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Name of Student
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Author Note

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Ex-Post Facto Clause
An ex post facto clause can generally be described as a criminal statute which changes
the legal consequence of any action that had already been committed before the enactment of the
law (Duxbury, 2013). In USA ex post facto clause is seen as prohibiting the states from passing
any law which would be inflicting punishment upon any individual for any act that had been
innocent when it was committed, the clause can further aggravate or make any crime greater,
change the punishment or inflict a greater punishment than it had been provided at the time of
commitment of the crime as per the provisions of the Section 10, Article I of the United States
Constitution.
Public Policy Reasons Limiting Ex Post Facto Laws
Ex post facto clause is limited by public policy because a person should never be
punished for committing an act that was not illegal at the time of committing it. The law is based
upon a legal fiction that everyone is knowledgeable about it and knows the difference between
legal and illegal (Heinze, 2018). Ex post facto laws are seen as an attempt for reaching back to
the times when the act had been legal and thereafter making it illegal.
Pros and Cons of Prohibiting Enforcement of Ex Post Facto Laws
Every action has its advantages and disadvantages, similarly prohibiting the enforcement
of ex post facto laws have certain advantages as well as disadvantages. The advantages for the

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prohibition of ex post facto laws are that the criminals would be held liable for the crimes that
they have committed regardless of the time of commitment of such crime. The disadvantage to
the prohibition of the enforcement of ex post facto law is it would be in violation of the
Constitution (Chiao, 2013).
Ex Post Facto Law and Bible
The governments in many countries are seen as imposing the ex post facto law. As the ex
post facto laws are seen as punishing people for the commitment of the acts that has been in
violation of a future law it is expressly forbidden by the constitutions of many free countries
(Harrison, 2016). In the Bible the God’s work of salvation was seen as to be done before the
creation began not after the beginning of the creation and not retroactively in the past. As per the
Bible the work of God can be seen as completely opposite of the principles of ex post facto law
and hence the prohibition of enforcement of such law would not be against the biblical world
view.

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Reference
Chiao, V. (2013). Punishment and Permissibility in the Criminal Law. Law and
Philosophy, 32(6), 729-765.
Duxbury, N. (2013). Ex post facto law. The American Journal of Jurisprudence, 58(2), 135-161.
Harrison, J. (2016). Legislative power and judicial power. Const. Comment., 31, 295.
Heinze, E. (2018). The logic of equality: a formal analysis of non-discrimination law. Routledge.