Texas Court Decision Could Uncork Home Distilling in the US
A federal judge in Texas has struck down a 156-year-old ban on home distilling, deeming it unconstitutional. The ruling, issued by US District Judge Mark Pittman, sides with the Hobby Distillers Association, which advocates for the legalization of personal spirit production.
Judge Pittman, appointed by former President Donald Trump, determined that the longstanding prohibition exceeded Congress’s taxing authority and violated the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The decision includes a permanent injunction against enforcing the ban on the association’s members, though it has been stayed for two weeks to allow the government time to appeal.
The lawsuit, filed in December, challenged the government’s authority to regulate activities conducted within private homes. It named several enforcement agencies as defendants, including the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the Department of Justice.
While the judge found that most individual plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a credible threat of prosecution, he ruled that the association and one member, Scott McNutt, had established potential harm from the ban’s enforcement. McNutt had received a warning letter from the TTB regarding possible legal consequences for purchasing distilling equipment.
The government defended the ban as a measure to protect tax revenue from distilled spirits by limiting production locations. However, Judge Pittman rejected this argument, stating that the prohibition did not raise revenue and merely “fermented a crime” statutorily.
Furthermore, the court found that the ban could not be justified under Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce, as it did not contribute to comprehensive market regulation in the alcohol industry.
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