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It’s been said that there’s no time like the present. But where we are now is often the result of where we’ve been in the past. With that in mind, Briefly Legal invites you to travel back in time to take a look at what two online sources, Findlaw.com and History.com, say happened during this week in legal history.

Cheers!: On March 22, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act, which instituted the federal tax on alcoholic beverages. The act also gave the states the green light to regulate the sale and distribution of beer and wine. In December of that year, Congress passed the 21^st Amendment and repealed Prohibition.

Fair and square: Today also marks the 40^th anniversary of Congress’s passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Passage cleared the way for states to implement their own legislation guaranteeing equal rights for women and prohibiting workplace discrimination against female employees.

From the bench: On March 23, 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld term limits for California lawmakers (Bates v. Jones). And on March 28, 2000, the court ruled that police cannot stop and frisk a person for a weapon based solely on an anonymous tip (Florida v. J.L.).

Got a tidbit of legal history to share? Send it to us at [email protected].