Yesterday a US District court in Texas ruled on a challenge to various parts of the Texas ABC code.    The decision is here. Judge Sparks struck down three provisions of the Texas ABC code for violating the 1st Amendment right to commercial speech.   He upheld the equal protection and commerce clause challenges to the Texas code. …Read More

The 4th annual legal symposium is set for September 11-13 in Chicago.  The meeting starts with a reception Sunday night the 11th.  The meeting will last all day Monday the 12th and end around noon on the 13th. The keynote address will be by Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.  Attorney General McKenna is currently chairman…Read More

As readers of this blog note, there are many forms of alcohol litigation across the country.    To address one vein of the litigation, Congress has introduced H.R. 1161 the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness  (CARE) Act.    This legislation is similar to a manager’s amendment  to last year’s bill offered toward the end of the 111th Congress….Read More

The New Jersey Attorney General office filed a petition for panel and en banc rehearing in the Third Circuit case.  A copy of their petition is attached here.  New Jersey alleges that the panel that heard the 3rd Circuit did not interpret Granholm correctly,  that they entertained new arguments without giving New Jersey a chance…Read More

It appears that Costco Corporation’s third bite at the apple in their attempt to deregulate the alcohol market in Washington State has reached the same conclusion as its first two attempts. Following failed attempts in the courtroom and the legislature in recent years, this year Costco spent millions of dollars to get an initiative on…Read More