The crime was often punished by "ducking". Ducking meant that the offender was placed in a chair over a river or pond. They were then lowered into the water, until they were all in the water. This was done several times. Few people were actually convicted of being a common scold, but it remained a crime listed on the law books of England and Wales until 1967. Because it applied only to women, it was eventually banned in the United States. This was because the U.S. Constitution (the highest law in the U.S.) does not allow people to be treated differently from each other. This comes from a section of the Constitution called the Equal Protection Clause.