Cite as: 515 U. S. 506 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
derstanding (and we think the only understanding consistent with principle) that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments require conviction by a jury of all elements of the crime, we must reject those cases that have embraced it. Though uniform postratification practice can shed light upon the meaning of an ambiguous constitutional provision, the practice here is not uniform, and the core meaning of the constitutional guarantees is unambiguous.
C
The Government's final argument is that the principle of stare decisis requires that we deny respondent's constitutional claim, citing our decision in Sinclair v. United States, 279 U. S. 263 (1929). That case is not controlling in the strictest sense, since it involved the assertion of a Sixth Amendment right to have the jury determine, not "materiality" under § 1001, but rather "pertinency" under that provision of Title 2 making it criminal contempt of Congress to refuse to answer a "question pertinent to [a] question under [congressional] inquiry," Rev. Stat. § 102, 2 U. S. C. § 192. The two questions are similar, however, and the essential argument made by respondent here was made by appellant in that case, who sought reversal of his conviction because of the trial court's failure to submit the question of pertinency to the jury: "[I]t has been said over and over again, that every essential ingredient of the crime must be proven to the satisfaction of the jury beyond a reasonable doubt." Brief for Appellant in Sinclair v. United States, O. T. 1928, No. 555, p. 109; 279 U. S., at 277 (argument for appellant). Though we did not address the constitutional argument explicitly, we held that the question of pertinency was "rightly decided by the court as one of law." Id., at 298. And tying the case even closer to the present one was our dictum that pertinency "is not essentially different from . . . materiality of false testimony," which "when an element in the crime of perjury, is one for the court." Ibid. Thus, while Sinclair is not strictly controlling, it is fair to say that we cannot hold
519
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