In a recent Bloomberg Law article, Thompson Coburn partner Michael Educate discussed a 157-year-old ban on home distilling, which is now at the center of a federal appeals court case.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit was set to hear oral arguments regarding the ban’s legality, as courts increasingly challenge broad interpretations of federal power.
That opportunity to place constitutional boundaries on the ban could interest the Fifth Circuit in spite of the government’s argument that the plaintiffs lack standing, said Mike.
Regarding the economic case for ending the ban on home distilling, Mike said there has been a trend generally toward loosening federal enforcement of alcoholic beverages, and there’s also the argument that the states should take a more proactive role in regulating distilling.
“The government is cobbling together a theory for how it can thread the needle” to justify federal enforcement, said Mike. “It doesn’t neatly line up.”
Read the full article here.
