Abstract
American courts do not often mention the obscure civil law doctrine known as the doctrine of desuetude.' Under its tenets, courts may abrogate statutes that have fallen into disuse. American courts do not employ the doctrine, however. The "American Rule" is that disuse, or desuetude, does not give courts the power to nullify or disregard a statute. One simple explanation for the American Rule is that courts normally do not abrogate legislative enactments without a constitutional violation, and courts have not viewed desuetude as a constitutional issue. However, as Professor Bickel observed exactly three decades ago, the doctrine of desuetude undoubtedly promotes traditional constitutional values of due process-particularly fair warning and principled, rather than arbitrary, administration of laws.
Recommended Citation
Chivers, Cory R.
(1992)
"Desuetude, Due Process, and the Scarlet
Letter Revisited,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1992:
No.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1992/iss2/2