Definition of ex post facto
: after the fact : retroactively
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Ex post facto is Latin for "from a thing done afterward". Approval for a project that's given ex post facto—after the project already has been begun or completed—may just have been given in order to save face. An ex post facto law is one that declares someone's action to be criminal only after it was committed--a procedure forbidden by our Constitution.
Origin and Etymology of ex post facto
Late Latin, literally, from a thing done afterward
Definition of ex post facto
: done, made, or formulated after the fact : retroactive
- ex post facto approval
- ex post facto laws
Recent Examples of ex post facto from the Web
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The Constitution expressly prohibits Congress and the states from enacting ex post facto laws.
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Would using an ex post facto diagnosis on the job market give me an unfair advantage?
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The leap, the extension, the tapping toes, the viselike grip that nullifies any ex post facto claim that this catch was not a catch.
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Vote suppression is not the same thing as a one-party state, and any number-juggling that suggests that is just silly, but, sure, put together enough restrictions and gerrymandering and ex post facto laws and so on, and that can add up.
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Applying those changes retroactively, the court reasoned, violated the Constitution’s ban on ex post facto punishments.
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Some scholars worry such estimates could be used to justify, ex post facto, the policy’s existence, and feel that Goodkind’s criticisms of previous work fall outside the bounds of scholarly decorum.
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Watson, by far the most popular alternative, spurred more ex post facto grousing over Jackson’s victory by scoring four touchdowns to propel Clemson past Alabama in an epic national championship game rematch.
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Faced with more evidence that Trump’s initial public rationale for firing Comey was misleading, the White House seems to have constructed an ex post facto legal justification for the dismissal, which Sanders delivered on Wednesday.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ex post facto.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of ex post facto
1787
Law Dictionary
legal Definition of ex post facto
: after the fact : retroactively
- cannot judge ex post facto
Origin and Etymology of ex post facto
Late Latin, literally, from a thing done afterward
legal Definition of ex post facto
1
: done, made, or formulated after the fact : retroactive
2
: of or relating to an ex post facto law
- the chief concerns of the ex post facto ban
- —L. H. Tribe
Seen and Heard
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