Enrolled Bill doctrine

The Enrolled Bill Doctrine is a principle of judicial interpretation of rules of procedure in legislative bodies. It holds that, once a bill passes a legislative body and is signed into law, the courts should assume that all rules of procedure were properly followed. It is a doctrine of judicial abstention, like the old, now generally abandoned doctrine of legislative redistricting being a political question as opposed to a judicial question.

Under pressure of various citizens groups and aggrieved individuals, some courts, most notably the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, are limiting the application of the Enrolled Bill Doctrine. Whenever a court strikes a bill down on procedural grounds, it forces the legislative body to pass the bill again, and gives opponents another crack at defeating it.