Posted by Ronny Holmes on September 11, 1998 at 14:52:06:
A practice condemned by the Constitution cannot be saved by
historical acceptance and present convenience.
[U.S. v. Woodley, 726 F.2d 1328, 1338 (1983)]
[emphasis added]
It is obviously correct that no one acquires a vested or
protected right in violation of the Constitution by long
use, even when that span of time covers our entire national
existence and indeed predates it.
[Walz v. Tax Commission of New York City,]
[397 U.S. 664, 678 (1970), emphasis added]