How Does Prohibition End?

[YesMichigan]

In the 1930's juries refused to find bootleggers guilty

 

http://fija.org/2013/12/05/happy-repeal-day-thanks-to-jury-nullification/

 

"Repeal Day marks the anniversary of the 5 December 1933 ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealing alcohol prohibition. After fewer than thirteen years, the cultural and political climate in the U.S. forced an end to the federal criminalization of numerous victimless alcohol offenses.

 

How did the people convey the message to the government that they were not willing to be complicit in the legalized abuse of peaceful people? In part, through jury nullification! By some estimates, jurors routinely nullified as many as 60% of alcohol violations tried before them. Defendants demands to exercise their rights to trial by jury resulted in courts so clogged with cases that many weren’t tried for more than a year after the alleged violations. Prosecutors turned increasingly to extremely lenient plea bargains, not at all on par with typical offers made in drug prohibition cases today, to persuade defendants to forego jury trials. But those who insisted on trials frequently won Not Guilty verdicts."

 

This is the same case with Sodomy laws that are still on the books in Michigan (and only 9 other states) even though they violate the Supreme Court ruling. Obviously this "Prohibited" activity is still illegal to State law but was unenforced for decades prior to the Federal Government stepping in with Lawrence V. Texas.

 

Here is the law still on the books in Michigan today.

THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE (EXCERPT)
Act 328 of 1931

750.338 Gross indecency; between male persons.

 

Sec. 338.

Any male person who, in public or in private, commits or is a party to the commission of or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of any act of gross indecency with another male person shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or by a fine of not more than $2,500.00, or if such person was at the time of the said offense a sexually delinquent person, may be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for an indeterminate term, the minimum of which shall be 1 day and the maximum of which shall be life.

 

 

 

This is related to the dispensary topic and I do wish Representative Callton had been asked his opinion on the dispensaries known to be operating in Detroit.

 

My point is, Society has ended Prohibition in the past years (or even half a century) before the Legislation catches up. For the people wondering "How do they stay open?" There is no phenomenon, we are witnessing the natural growth of Freedom emerging from decades of Tsarist Oppression. It is "Alice's Restaurant" logic at its finest, there are just too many telling them that their way is not the way of the future and the People refuse to continue the charade.

[YesMichigan]

 

Alice's Restaurant for those who don't know what the heck I'm going on about.

[GregS]

Speaking for myself, prohibition will end with a gentle chuckle.

[knucklehead bob]

Speaking for myself, prohibition will end with a gentle chuckle.

 

Me too , sumthin like this

 

 

However , they will drag it out as long as possible kicking , screaming , scratching , clawing , grasping at everything , right until the bitter end .

[Indigro]

Dont judges attempt to circumvent jury nullification by placing a gag on the defense re their medical status?

[YesMichigan]

Dont judges attempt to circumvent jury nullification by placing a gag on the defense re their medical status?

 

They sure do.

 

You know all aspects of the courts and LEO are aware of how Prohibition ended in the 30's. They will do all they can to not lose control.

 

Which is why I posted the sodomy laws that Michigan still has on the books today. They did take oral sex out in the 60's which was pretty nice of them. Did you hear of people being arrested in the 80s and 90s for anal sex? I did not, even though under State law they could have been and Federal Law wouldn't have said boo about it until 2003.

[cristinew]

The sex laws you speak of have been deemed unconstitutional  by the US  Supreme Court  , That is why our local cops do not enforce  them laws,  You cannot say this about drug laws,   apples  to oranges  do not count,

 

 2003 the Supreme Court reversed the decision with Lawrence v. Texas, invalidating sodomy laws 

[GregS]

Me too , sumthin like this

 

 

However , they will drag it out as long as possible kicking , screaming , scratching , clawing , grasping at everything , right until the bitter end .

...and we will laugh.

[YesMichigan]

The sex laws you speak of have been deemed unconstitutional  by the US  Supreme Court  , That is why our local cops do not enforce  them laws,  You cannot say this about drug laws,   apples  to oranges  do not count,

 

 2003 the Supreme Court reversed the decision with Lawrence v. Texas, invalidating sodomy laws 

 

You didn't read my post at all did you? I referenced Lawrence v. Texas. Five States took them off of the books because they knew they were unconstitutional since 2003. Michigan isn't one of them.

 

You also missed where I said "Did you hear of people being arrested in the 80s and 90s for anal sex? I did not, even though under State law they could have been and Federal Law wouldn't have said boo about it until 2003." Which is odd as it was in the post above yours.

[t-pain]

prohibition did not originally end in the court rooms, nor will the current prohibition.

 

prohibition ends at the ballot box.

[outsideinthecold]

I always thought alcohol Prohibition in effect ended when juries quit convicting casual users and the costs of enforcing a law so many ignored became uneconomic.