I'm looking for three or more situations in which the law eventually
changed because the law was generally disregarded and became
unenforceable. I wish I had some examples to give, but I don't. A
possible future example might be that if P2P programs like Kazaa,
WinMX, and Freenet become more widely used, copyright law might have
to be changed. But this hasn't happened yet, so it doesn't count.

It would be nice if at least a couple of the situations happened in
the US, but this isn't absolutely necessary.

Payment goes to the person who provides three good examples of what
I'm asking for, with pointers to sources either on- or off-line.

Please feel free to ask for clarification!

Thanks,

Porkribs

porkribs,

Thanks for the opportunity to research this question for you -- I
found it most interesting!

I located several references to laws which were virtually
unenforceable being rescinded or overturned:

Prohibition - rescinded because it was impossible to keep people from
manufacturing, obtaining, and drinking alcohol, and support for the
law eventually dwindled:
"Prohibition of Alcohol", Albalagh Children Home website
"The structure now called organized crime was born during the
Prohibition. People hijacked alcohol that was on its way to government
warehouses where it would be sold for medicinal purposes. New
criminals were formed such as the bootleggers and rumrunners. Bloody
shoot-outs took place between rival gangs. American society was
becoming totally corrupt. Bribery became a way of life. Many people
started dying because of poisonous alcohol."
http://www.albalagh.net/kids/history/prohibition.shtml

"Officials working to remove obsolete, unenforceable laws from books"
By Jay Barrett, Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Clarion (May 3, 2000)
"Kenai's city manager is on a mission. He wants to streamline the city
code so the city does not get stuck with enforcing state laws in the
wake of legislative budget cutting... Laws stricken from the books
range from health inspections to lewd and lascivious acts in public."
http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/050300/new_0503000003.shtml

"Alabama removes ban on interracial marriage" Associated Press, USA
Today (November 7, 2000)
"Alabama voters on Tuesday repealed the state's century-old ban
against interracial marriage, an unenforceable but embarrassing
throwback to the state's segregationist past. The vote removed the
dubious distinction of Alabama being the only state in the country
with such a relic from the segregated South remaining in its
constitution."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/vote2000/al/main03.htm

"Motorcycle helmet law riding bumpy legal road" by Tanya Albert and
Craig Garrett, The Detroit News (June 18, 2000)
"About three dozen Michigan district court judges have tossed out
tickets for motorcyclists who weren’t wearing helmets... judges...
agreed with an argument by a defense lawyer that the law can’t be
enforced because Michigan State Police haven’t provided a list of
approved helmets, as the law requires...  Nearly every state required
motorcyclists to wear helmets by the early 1970s. But after Illinois
repealed its law in 1970, other [sic] state changed theirs...Illinois,
Colorado and Iowa don’t require any helmets... 22 states, including
Michigan, require all motorcyclists to be helmeted... 25 states don’t
require adults 21 and older to wear helmets; in many cases, only those
17 years or younger have to wear helmets."
http://www.abateofmichigan.org/Helmet/detroitnews061800.html

Laws against consensual, private acts - ruled un-Constitutional, in
addition to being generally unenforceable (if you are the slightest
bit sensitive, do NOT click on the link to this news article)
"State sodomy law unconstitutional" by Ellena Fortner, Fort Worth, TX
Star-Telegram (June 8, 2000)
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:STATE51B/1:STATE51B0608100.html


Search Strategy

"law changed" unenforceable
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22law+changed%22+unenforceable&btnG=Google+Search

"law changed" not enforceable
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22law+changed%22+not+enforceable&btnG=Google+Search

Before Rating my Answer on the question, if you need any additional
information, please post a "Request for Clarification", and I will be
glad to do what I can to meet your needs.

I hope this information is exactly what you needed!

Regards,

aceresearcher

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Request for Answer Clarification by porkribs-ga on 29 Oct 2002 13:39 PST

Thanks very much, aceresearcher! At first glance your answer looks
superb -- I'll look these over later today and if I have questions,
I'll ask. If not, I'll rank the answer then. (This is NOT a
clarification request, obviously -- I just wanted to post it here to
make sure you'd see it).

Thanks again,

Porkribs

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Clarification of Answer by aceresearcher-ga on 29 Oct 2002 15:54 PST

Thanks, porkribs, just let me know!

aceresearcher

Excellent answer! Thank you.