Us constitutional amendment repealed prohibition

The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed when the states ratified the Twenty-First Amendment on December 5, 1933.1 Footnote
U.S. Const. amend. XXI, § 1 ; see Intro.3.5 Early Twentieth Century Amendments (Sixteenth Through Twenty-Second Amendments). Thereafter, the Supreme Court decided a few cases that examined the repeal’s legal implications. In United States v. Chambers , the Court held that the Twenty-First Amendment’s ratification immediately rendered the Eighteenth Amendment inoperative.2 Footnote
291 U.S. 217, 222 (1934) . Consequently, “neither the Congress nor the courts could give it continued vitality.” 3 Footnote
Id. The Court also noted that “[t]he Twenty-First Amendment contained no saving clause as to prosecutions for offenses [committed before its adoption].” Id. at 224 . The Twenty-First Amendment also nullified provisions of the Volstead Act that rested upon Congress’s Eighteenth Amendment powers, including provisions that imposed penal sanctions for violations of Prohibition.4 Footnote
Id. at 222–23 . See also United States v. Constantine, 296 U.S. 287, 294–96 (1935) (holding that the Eighteenth Amendment’s repeal deprived Congress of the power to impose penalties for violating state liquor laws that criminalized the sale of alcoholic beverages); United States v. Kesterson, 296 U.S. 299, 300 (1935) (same). Congress repealed Titles I and II of the Volstead Act in the Liquor Law Repeal and Enforcement Act, ch. 740, tit. I, § 1, 49 Stat. 872, 872 (1935). Courts were thus required to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction all pending prosecutions for Volstead Act violations, including proceedings on appeal.5 Footnote
Chambers , 291 U.S. at 222–23, 226 . See also Massey v. United States, 291 U.S. 608, 609–10 (1934) . The Supreme Court declined to consider whether final judgments of conviction entered before the Eighteenth Amendment’s repeal remained valid. Chambers , 291 U.S. at 226 .

Nonetheless, Prohibition’s repeal did not extinguish all forms of legal liability related to the transportation, sale, or manufacture of alcoholic beverages (e.g., liability for federal taxes on alcohol).6 Footnote
See United States v. Rizzo, 297 U.S. 530, 533 (1936) (noting that the Eighteenth Amendment’s repeal did not extinguish liability for federal taxes on alcohol unless such taxes were imposed as penalties for violating liquor laws); United States v. Mack, 295 U.S. 480, 481–84 (1935) (holding that the owner of a vessel seized for illegally transporting intoxicating liquors remained liable on a bond executed pursuant to the Volstead Act). In Mack , the Court noted that the bond became payable when the owner failed to return the vessel to an officer’s custody before the day of trial. Conviction and sentencing of the crew had occurred before the end of Prohibition. Id. Moreover, the Twenty-First Amendment recognized that the states could regulate or prohibit alcoholic beverages within their jurisdictions for legitimate, nonprotectionist purposes, such as health or safety.7 Footnote
U.S. Const. amend. XXI, § 2 ( “The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.” ); Tenn. Wine & Spirits Retailers Ass’n v. Thomas , No. 18-96, slip op. at 31–32 (U.S. June 26, 2019) . For more information on state liquor control regimes after Prohibition, see Amdt21.S1.2.5 Ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment. The federal government continued to regulate or tax activities involving alcoholic beverages, including aspects of beverage production, wholesale distribution, importation, labeling, and advertising.8 Footnote
See Amdt21.S2.10 State and Federal Regulation of Alcohol Sales; Amdt21.S2.11 State and Federal Regulation of Minimum Drinking Age.

Footnotes 1 U.S. Const. amend. XXI, § 1 ; see Intro.3.5 Early Twentieth Century Amendments (Sixteenth Through Twenty-Second Amendments). 2 291 U.S. 217, 222 (1934) . 3 Id. The Court also noted that “[t]he Twenty-First Amendment contained no saving clause as to prosecutions for offenses [committed before its adoption].” Id. at 224 . 4 Id. at 222–23 . See also United States v. Constantine, 296 U.S. 287, 294–96 (1935) (holding that the Eighteenth Amendment’s repeal deprived Congress of the power to impose penalties for violating state liquor laws that criminalized the sale of alcoholic beverages); United States v. Kesterson, 296 U.S. 299, 300 (1935) (same). Congress repealed Titles I and II of the Volstead Act in the Liquor Law Repeal and Enforcement Act, ch. 740, tit. I, § 1, 49 Stat. 872, 872 (1935). 5 Chambers , 291 U.S. at 222–23, 226 . See also Massey v. United States, 291 U.S. 608, 609–10 (1934) . The Supreme Court declined to consider whether final judgments of conviction entered before the Eighteenth Amendment’s repeal remained valid. Chambers , 291 U.S. at 226 . 6 See United States v. Rizzo, 297 U.S. 530, 533 (1936) (noting that the Eighteenth Amendment’s repeal did not extinguish liability for federal taxes on alcohol unless such taxes were imposed as penalties for violating liquor laws); United States v. Mack, 295 U.S. 480, 481–84 (1935) (holding that the owner of a vessel seized for illegally transporting intoxicating liquors remained liable on a bond executed pursuant to the Volstead Act). In Mack , the Court noted that the bond became payable when the owner failed to return the vessel to an officer’s custody before the day of trial. Conviction and sentencing of the crew had occurred before the end of Prohibition. Id. 7 U.S. Const. amend. XXI, § 2 ( “The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.” ); Tenn. Wine & Spirits Retailers Ass’n v. Thomas , No. 18-96, slip op. at 31–32 (U.S. June 26, 2019) . For more information on state liquor control regimes after Prohibition, see Amdt21.S1.2.5 Ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment. 8 See Amdt21.S2.10 State and Federal Regulation of Alcohol Sales; Amdt21.S2.11 State and Federal Regulation of Minimum Drinking Age.