united-states constitutional-law us-constitution
Does a Constitutional Amendment Overruling a Court Decision Reinstate Any Applicable Laws?
<p>Suppose the Supreme Court of the United States rules on an issue of a federal law and decides that a certain law is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.</p>

<p>Then suppose Congress proposes an amendment to the states to amend the constitution to remove the language that made the law unconstitutional. This amendment is then ratified and becomes part of the constitution.</p>

<p>Does this in turn make the original law enforceable again? Or does Congress have to pass the law again in order for it to be enforceable?</p>

<p>Essentially my question is if the doctrine of stare decisis (or similar doctrine) prevents the enforcement of the old law until a new law is passed after adoption of the constitutional amendment.</p>

<p>Additionally, as there may be limited federal examples, I would be interested in similar situations which occur during interpretations of state constitutions.</p>

<p>Stare Decisis does not validate an old law that was struck down.  Rather it allows the creation of a similar but still new law.  You cannot be prosecuted for a crime committed before a law takes effect.  Since the constitution is the Supreme Law of the land, any law that is Unconstitutional is an illegal law, thus the criminalized act is still legal.</p>

<p>There is historical precedence for this:  With the passage of the 18th amendment (Prohibition) alcohol was not criminalized per se, right off the bat.  Rather, it empowered Congress to pass the Volstead Act, which was the regulatory act that banned the substance.  When the 21st amendment was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment, the Volstead act was automatically repealed as it was now illegal under the Constitution.</p>

<p>In a similar possible future situation, the hypothetical repeal of the Second Amendment would not make firearm ownership illegal, as all gun control laws in existance currently are 2nd Amendment compliant.  To make firearm ownership illegal a specific law would need to be passed to make firearms owership illegal.  Repealing the 2nd Amendment only removes the Constitutional block saying that such a law is unconstitutional.</p>
