ATTAINDER

attainder  (<<schwa>>-tayn-d<<schwa>>r),  n.1.  At common  law,  the  act  of  extinguishing  a

person’s civil rights when that person is sentenced to death or declared an outlaw for committing a

felony or treason. 2.Hist. A grand-jury proceeding to try whether a jury has given a false verdict. 3.

The conviction of a jury so tried. See BILL OF ATTAINDER. — attaint (<<schwa>>-taynt), vb.

“The word attainder is derived from the Latin term attinctus, signifying stained or polluted,

and  includes,  in  its  meaning,  all  those  disabilities  which  flow  from  a  capital  sentence.  On  the

attainder,  the  defendant  is disqualified  to  be  a  witness in  any  court; he  can  bring  no  action,  nor

perform  any  of  the  legal  functions  which  before  he  was  admitted  to  discharge;  he  is,  in  short,

regarded as dead in law.” 1 Joseph Chitty, A Practical Treatise on the Criminal Law 725 (2d ed.

1826).[Blacks Law 8th]