http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1798/ U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, presented by The Oyez Project (www.oyez.org) en-us <p>Was the Connecticut legislation a violation of Article 1, Section 10, of the Constitution, which prohibits ex post facto laws?</p><p>In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the legislation was not an ex post facto law. The Court drew a distinction between criminal rights and "private rights," arguing that restrictions against ex post facto laws were not designed to protect citizens' contract rights. Justice Chase noted that while all ex post facto laws are retrospective, all retrospective laws are not necessarily ex post facto. Even "vested" property rights are subject to retroactive laws.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1798/1798_0/