[Mr. K]

"-- I wonder, though, if a retroactive law is itself legal. Is that the same as `ex post facto'?

-- A good lawyer will always answer "that depends."

A REAL good lawyer will answer "What do you WANT it to mean?"

[Cboldt]

-- A REAL good lawyer will answer "What do you WANT it to mean?" --

True that. But when predicting a judicial outcome, the answer is "whatever the judge wants it to mean."