I learn something new every day. Apparently, when Congress passed the law (26 USC 5178(a)(1)(B)) to prohibit home distilling in 1868 they violated their authority under the Taxing Clause and the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. At least that is what a district court in Texas has just found in striking the law and permanently enjoining its enforcement.
The case was brought by four plaintiffs and the Hobby Distillers Association with the support of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The court ultimately found that three of the four individual plaintiffs did not have standing to bring this case but found that one individual and the Association did have standing to bring the case.
The Court then evaluated the Taxing Power (and the Necessary and Proper Clause) and held that “neither Congress’s enumerated taxing power nor its incidental powers sustain the provisions as enacted.”
As to the Commerce Clause analysis, the Court noted “that where regulating a purely local activity does not serve a broader, overarching statutory scheme, Congress cannot reach it” and that the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 USC 201 et seq.) passed in 1935 was not comprehensive enough to justify the ban on home distilling. The court did not engage in any historical recognition of the unique alcohol regulation system in the United States nor was the 21st Amendment mentioned in the decision or government’s brief.
The Court stayed his order for two weeks to allow the government to seek emergency appellate relief if it chooses.
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