Lawmakers outraged over the AIG bonuses have told the people who got the money to watch out -- the government will get it back one way or the other, even if it means taxing the heck out of their paychecks.
But legal scholars say Congress will have a tough time defending itself in court if it goes down that road.
Not only would Congress be retroactively meddling with contractual agreements, they say, but it would be passing laws that would essentially target a specific group of employees.
Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor, said targeting those employees through taxes would invite a valid court challenge.
"It could well trigger years of litigation," he said. "Just because a company or individual is unpopular does not mean the government can retroactively impose punitive measures against them. ... There's a host of difficult contractual and constitutional and statutory barriers that would have to be overcome by Congress."
Two of those difficulties, lawyers say, lie in Article I of the U.S. Constitution -- a section stating Congress cannot pass any "Bill of Attainder" or "ex post facto" law.
A Bill of Attainder is an act of the legislature that singles out and punishes a group or individual without trial. An ex post facto law retroactively changes the legal consequences of an act.
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But legal scholars say Congress will have a tough time defending itself in court if it goes down that road.
Not only would Congress be retroactively meddling with contractual agreements, they say, but it would be passing laws that would essentially target a specific group of employees.
Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor, said targeting those employees through taxes would invite a valid court challenge.
"It could well trigger years of litigation," he said. "Just because a company or individual is unpopular does not mean the government can retroactively impose punitive measures against them. ... There's a host of difficult contractual and constitutional and statutory barriers that would have to be overcome by Congress."
Two of those difficulties, lawyers say, lie in Article I of the U.S. Constitution -- a section stating Congress cannot pass any "Bill of Attainder" or "ex post facto" law.
A Bill of Attainder is an act of the legislature that singles out and punishes a group or individual without trial. An ex post facto law retroactively changes the legal consequences of an act.
More Here
