# Do Laws "Spring Back Into Life"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938 "2006-05-31T22:34:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RCGDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@RCGDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCGDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/1 "2006-05-31T22:34:40Z")
I will give you an example Let’s say there were (and I’m sure there were) abortion laws on the books before Roe v Wade said abortion was legal For the sake of argument, let’s say one state had a law that said all abortion is illegal. Ok Roe v. Wade comes along and overturns that law. Now let’s say that state never did anything to repeal that law it just sits on the books, but can’t be enforced. Ok here it is 2006 and let’s say the Supreame Court says “no Roe v. Wade was wrong,” abortion can be illegal. In otherwords the TSCOTUS reverses itself. Now does this law come back to life? Or is it dead in the water and the state would have to readopt a ban on abortion? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/2 "2006-05-31T22:43:17Z")
The law is still on the books. The state cannot enforce the law today because any attempt to prosecute under the law would be thrown out, but if the law were deemed constitutional in the future then the state could resume enforcing the law. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/3 "2006-05-31T22:43:22Z")
The law comes back to life. SCOTUS doesn’t have the power to remove a law from the books; it only has the power to declare the law unenforceable. You’re also misstating the effects of Roe v Wade, but that’s not critically important to your question. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/4 "2006-06-02T02:42:35Z")
Not only will those laws come back to life, but legislatures are working on laws now in anticipation of the overturn of Roe v. Wade, so if Roe v. Wade is overturned, they’ll be prepared (I am not referring to laws that are being drafted in such a way as to be legal even if Roe v. Wade is affirmed, although some lawmakers are working on those, too). ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/5 "2006-06-03T01:12:47Z")
Everyone else seems pretty sure that such laws would spring back to life, but there appears to be at least a modicum of uncertainty surrounding this issue. IANAL, but I am willing to quote from the June 2006 Atlantic Montly article “Life after Roe” by Jeffrey Rosen: > [@Jeffrey Rosen in the Atlantic Monthly](#): > > The day after Roe, the handful of state abortion bans that were passed before Roe but never formally repealed would **arguably** spring back to life. > > [snip] > > If the governor or attorney general in any of these states [with anti-abortion laws on the books] announced an intention to support these miraculously rejuvenated abortion bans, **and if state courts agreed that the bans hadn’t been implicitly repealed** , abortions might indeed be outlawed in most circumstances. (bolding mine…) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/6 "2006-06-03T02:06:08Z")
Upon what authority does Rosen rely in stating that there is uncertainty? For the lawyers among us, a question which would I think help settle this. Is a SCOTUS decision striking down a law legally considered an injunction? If so, is the effect of SCOTUS reversing an earlier precedent the same as the lifting or dissolution of an injunction? ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/7 "2006-06-03T02:12:56Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Upon what authority does Rosen rely in stating that there is uncertainty? I wish I knew. He doesn’t say this, but I interpreted the uncertainty as meaning, more-or-less, “Most legal experts think the anti-abortion laws still on the books would ‘spring back to life.’ But it hasn’t really been tested by the courts yet, so we’ll see.” Has there been a historical example of a law which was enforced, temporarily “disabled” via SCOTUS decision, and then enforced again after the SCOTUS decision was overturned without legislative active? Maybe some death penalty laws would fit the bill? ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/8 "2006-06-03T02:15:43Z")
I should add also that this point is extremely tangential to Rosen’s article, which is about the potential political effects of Roe being overturned. Perhaps he blew off the research on the precise legal machinations. I know I would have… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/9 "2006-06-03T19:28:41Z")
::: bump ::: Any legalistas want to weigh in on this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-laws-spring-back-into-life/358938/10 "2006-06-03T22:48:39Z")
When the US Congress repealed the national 55mph speedlimit, speedlimits in Texas reverted to a maximum of 70mph. However, laws that limited trucks to 65mph days and 55mph nights became effective again. Those laws have since been changed and 18-wheelers can blow your doors off again. This seems an example of an obsolete law coming back to life when an overriding law changed.