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Constitution of the United States

Amend. XVIII. Prohibition of the Manufacture, Sale, or Transportation of Liquor

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Current through: the volume states no acts currency; this is its 2025 edition.

  1. Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

  2. Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

  3. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

Editor's notes

U.S. Const., amend. 18 has been repealed by U.S. Const., amend. 21.

Law reviews

For note, “ERA: The Effect of Extending the Time for Ratification on Attempts to Rescind Prior Ratifications,” see 28 Emory L.J. 71 (1979). For comment, “Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Confining Juveniles with Adults After Graham and Miller,” see 61 Emory L. J. 1445 (2012). For article, “Prohibitive Failure: The Demise of the Ban on Sports Betting,” see 35 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 329 (2019).

Other notes

Effect of U.S. Const., amend. 21.
United States Const., amend. 21 took away the power to continue prosecutions begun under the National Prohibition Act before repeal of U.S. Const., amend. 18, or to enforce judgments of conviction which had not become final prior to ratification. Hosier v. Aderhold, 71 F.2d 422, 1934 U.S. App. LEXIS 3116 (5th Cir. 1934). Whatever power was granted by U.S. Const., amend. 18 was recalled by U.S. Const., amend. 21 and, with the recall of the power, necessarily fell acts of Congress adopted thereunder. Green v. Page, 9 F. Supp. 844, 1935 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1918 (S.D. Ga. 1935).
Prospective application.
United States Const., amend. 21 is prospective and does not apply retroactively to a case where a prosecution has been completed and a valid judgment entered before its adoption. Hosier v. Aderhold, 71 F.2d 422, 1934 U.S. App. LEXIS 3116 (5th Cir. 1934).
No double jeopardy found.
General principles of double jeopardy did not bar the defendant’s retrial on the malice murder charge because the verdicts were repugnant and, thus, failed to result in an event that terminated jeopardy, akin to a situation in which a mistrial is declared after a jury could not reach a verdict. McElrath v. State, 315 Ga. 126, 880 S.E.2d 518, 2022 Ga. LEXIS 296 (2022), rev’d, 601 U.S. 87, 144 S. Ct. 651, 217 L. Ed. 2d 419, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 997 (2024), vacated in part, reaff’d, 319 Ga. 539, 905 S.E.2d 654, 2024 Ga. LEXIS 165 (2024).
ALR.
Presence of liquor in vehicle at the time of search and seizure as condition of forfeiture for violating prohibition, 71 A.L.R. 911.

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Current through: the volume states no acts currency; this is its 2025 edition.

Text read from 1us-const-(v1)-2025-pdf.pdf, Volume V1, 2025 edition, pages 1455 to 1456; merge action: bound only; file SHA-256 3ba17b39ff61.

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Constitution of the United States, Amend. XVIII. Prohibition of the Manufacture, Sale, or Transportation of Liquor | Georgia Commons