Posted on 05/16/2005 7:39:46 AM PDT by zarf
WASHINGTON - Wine lovers may buy directly from out-of-state vineyards, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, striking down laws banning a practice that has flourished because of the Internet and growing popularity of winery tours.
The 5-4 decision strikes down laws in New York and Michigan that make it a crime to buy wine directly from vineyards in another state. In all, 24 states have laws that bar interstate shipments.
The state bans are discriminatory and anti-competitive, the court said.
"States have broad power to regulate liquor," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "This power, however, does not allow states to ban, or severely limit, the direct shipment of out-of-state wine while simultaneously authorizing direct shipment by in-state producers."
"If a state chooses to allow direct shipments of wine, it must do so on evenhanded terms," he wrote.
Kennedy was joined in his opinion by Justices Antonin Scalia, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.
At issue was the 21st Amendment, which ended Prohibition in 1933 and granted states authority to regulate alcohol sales. Nearly half the states subsequently passed laws requiring outside wineries to sell their products through licensed wholesalers within the state.
But the Constitution also prohibits states from passing laws that discriminate against out-of-state businesses. That led to a challenge to laws in Michigan and New York, which allow direct shipments for in-state wineries but not out-of-state ones.
In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the ruling needlessly overturns long-established regulations aimed partly at protecting minors. State regulators under the 21st Amendment have clear authority to regulate alcohol as the see fit, he wrote.
"The court does this nation no service by ignoring the textual commands of the Constitution and acts of Congress," Thomas wrote.
He was joined in his opinion by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, as well as Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and John Paul Stevens.
The obvious question:
Why is it OK for cigarettes?
This might upset Hillary. One of her grandest bases is in the wine country of NY.
Silly me.
I'm guessing there are lawyers being contacted as we type to settle that exact question.
New York is too large a market not to ask.
I think we do the same thing with milk here in NY. Let's see if that comes out.
I don't think she'll get upset.
Shes probably already ordered a couple of bottles from california and is looking to get drunk.
Isn't it a little weird to see the court split like this? Thomas and Rehnquist on one side, Scalia on the other?
This ruling will have no bearing on wine drinkers in Delaware - even in-state wineries must use wholesalers to ship their products to in-state customers.
The alcohol distributors in Delaware have a very cushy monopoly.
Yeah, Ginsberg and Scalia on the same side. Interesting.
I noticed that too.
You would think so, but not really.
Look at who the lawyers were involved in the court cases across the country.
It was alot of big conservative legal names.
Bork was on one side, Ken Starr was on the other, the federalist society was doing debates across the country on it.
It was mostly one of those things that was more talked about in intellectual conservative circles in the world of acadamia. It did have interesting splits though.
When can I start ordering wine from California?
sorry there Sacajaweau but don't you believe it... that's only in her dreams!!! i live on Seneca Lake and it's pure RED through wine country except for the RAT's that come through here on the WineTours, and of course for
the Peoples DemocRATic Republic of Ithaca EVIL!!!
Will they be able to charge the wine on their credit cards? Can't do that with cigs anymore!
Not as wierd as you may think. Interesting tidbit of info: the two justices that vote together most often are not Thomas and Scalia, but Ginsberg and Souter.
States rights vs Fair trade. The Feds are in charge of Trade.
I'm glad you told me. I was at the Smith Observatory near Hobart and was told that she reigned in the vicinity.
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