A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, ruling the prohibition unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans found the long-standing law an improper use of Congressional taxing power.
The ruling favors the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members. The group argued that individuals should have the right to distill spirits at home for personal use or as a hobby.
Limits on federal power
The ban originated from a law passed during Reconstruction in July 1868. Originally designed to prevent liquor tax evasion, the law allowed the government to impose fines of up to $10,000 and prison sentences of five years on violators.
Writing for a three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones stated the ban actually harmed tax revenue. She noted that the prohibition prevented the government from collecting taxes that would otherwise be available through regulated manufacturing and labeling.
Jones warned that the government's legal logic could allow Congress to criminalize almost any private activity. She specifically cited home-based businesses and remote work as activities that could fall under such a broad interpretation of federal authority.
“Without any limiting principle, the government’s theory would violate this court’s obligation to read the Constitution carefully to avoid creating a general federal authority akin to the police power,” Jones wrote.
Devin Watkins, the attorney representing the Hobby Distillers Association, called the decision a vital check on federal overreach. He described the ruling as an important decision regarding the limits of federal power.
Andrew Grossman, who argued the appeal, called the decision “an important victory for individual liberty.” He added that the ruling allows plaintiffs to “pursue their passion to distill fine beverages in their homes.”
The court's decision upholds a July 2024 ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas. The Department of Justice and the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
