[¶ 28] The Legislature is presumed to know the law when enacting legislation. See State v. Clark, 367 N.W.2d 168, 170 (N.D. 1985). When the historical circumstances for additional time after service by mail are considered with the statutes superseded by N.D.R.Civ.P. 6 and the Legislature's reenactment of the mechanic's lien law after the adoption of the rules of civil procedure, we conclude the Legislature intended the provisions for additional time after service by mail under N.D.R.Civ.P. 6(e) to apply when an owner chooses to serve a written demand by registered mail under N.D.C.C. § 35-27-25.

A statute found to be unconstitutional is void from its beginning and is to be treated as if it never existed. State v. Clark, 367 N.W.2d 168 (N.D. 1985). McGuire v. C L Restaurant Inc., 346 N.W.2d 605 (Minn. 1984); Briggs v. Campbell, Wyant Cannon Foundry, 379 Mich. 160, 150 N.W.2d 752 (1967).

Unconstitutional legislation is void and is to be treated as if it never existed. State v. Clark, 367 N.W.2d 168 (N.D. 1985). An unconstitutional statute is just as inoperative as if it had never been enacted.

Numerous states have explicitly applied the same rule of law to revive criminal statutes temporarily superceded by unconstitutional language. See, e.g., State v. Bloss, 637 P.2d 1117, 1130 (Haw. 1981) (unconstitutional criminal ordinance regulating commercial speech reinstated predecessor ordinance), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 824, 103 S.Ct. 56 (1982); B.H. v. State, 645 So.2d 987, 996 (Fla. 1994) (juvenile criminal conviction under a revived statute is not violative of due process), cert. denied, 515 U.S. 1132, 115 S.Ct. 2559 (1995); State v. Clark, 367 N.W.2d 168, 169 (N.D. 1985) (unconstitutional amendment to a "bad check" statute revived the predecessor statute); State v. Driver, 598 S.W.2d 774, 776 (Tenn. 1980) (unconstitutional amendment to a securities fraud statute left the former act in "full force and effect"); Clark v. State, 287 A.2d 660, 664 (Del. 1972) (conviction under a valid predecessor statute affirmed where a subsequent amendment was declared unconstitutional), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 812, 93 S.Ct. 139 (1972); State v. Clayton, 99 So.2d 312, 315 (La. 1957) (unconstitutional penalty provision pertaining to the issuance of worthless checks revived the predecessor penalty provision).