Supreme Court will review decades-old ban on distilling liquor at home
The justices will weigh whether the law still serves Congress’s taxing power after lower courts said it overreaches and blocks personal distilling.
- The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to review the constitutionality of a nearly 160-year-old federal ban on distilling spirits at home in Department of Justice v. McNutt.
- Enacted in 1868 during the Reconstruction-era, the legislation aimed to curb tax evasion by commercial distillers after lawmakers determined that "at least seven-eights" of spirits went untaxed.
- Two federal appeals courts issued conflicting rulings in April: the Fifth Circuit backed the Texas-based Hobby Distillers Association, while the Sixth Circuit upheld the ban in a case brought by John Ream, a brewpub owner from Newark, Ohio.
- Under current federal law, violators face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, as the statute explicitly prohibits any "person may not produce distilled spirits at home for personal use."
- Arguments in the case will likely take place next year, with a final decision from The Supreme Court expected by late June or early July.
44 Articles
44 Articles
Supreme Court to review 158-year-old law banning home distilling
The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a case challenging the 1868 law that bans home distilling, in a case that tests how much power Congress can claim under the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause.
Aftenposten
NettavisenThe Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether Congress had the right to ban home burning over 150 years ago.
SCOTUS to Take Up a Boozy Ban From 1868
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider when Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a ban on distiling spirits in private homes more than 150 years ago. Plaintiffs challenging the prohibition on home distiling claim the 1868 law is an antiquated relic of Reconstruction-era politics, reports the AP...
High court takes up challenge to 160-year-old ban on distilling alcohol at home
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a challenge to a federal law barring the distilling of alcohol at home, weighing whether it oversteps the federal government’s powers. The high court said in an orders list released Monday morning that it will take up Department of Justice v. Scott McNutt for oral arguments […]
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