Supreme Court Reviews Home Distilling Ban

The Supreme Court agreed to review Department of Justice v. McNutt, a challenge to the federal ban on distilling spirits at home. The justices took the Justice Department’s appeal of a Fifth CircuitCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuitcurrent United States federal appellate court ruling that struck the ban down. The ban dates to 1868, when Congress acted amid evasion of federal spirits taxes. The Sixth CircuitCourt of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitFederal Appeals Court upheld the ban in another case. The government says home stills are hard to inspect and can aid tax evasion. The challengers say Congress cannot criminalize home distilling for that reason. Arguments are expected next year; the case asks whether Congress may use its taxing power to prohibit home conduct.