Desuetude

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Desuetude

West's Encyclopedia of American Law | 2005 | Copyright

DESUETUDE

The state of being unused; legally, the doctrine by which a law or treaty is rendered obsolete because of disuse. The concept encompasses situations in which a court refuses to enforce an unused law even if the law has not been repealed.

Desuetude saw use as a defense during the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2003 decision in lawrence v. texas, which dealt with Texas' sodomy law. Lawrence successfully argued that since statutes prohibiting sodomy had either fallen into obscurity or been overturned in most states, Texas' statute was similarly invalid.

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desuetude

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

desuetude XV. — F. désuétude or its source L. dēsuētūdō, f. dēsuēscere, dēsuēt- disuse, become unaccustomed, f. DE- 6 + suēscere be wont; see -TUDE.

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T. F. HOAD. "desuetude." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "desuetude." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-desuetude.html

T. F. HOAD. "desuetude." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-desuetude.html

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desuetude

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

des·ue·tude / ˈdeswiˌt(y)oōd/ • n. formal a state of disuse: the docks fell into desuetude.

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"desuetude." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"desuetude." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-desuetude.html

"desuetude." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-desuetude.html

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