Robert Alt, president and CEO of the Buckeye Institute and lead attorney in the case Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, told The Ohio Star Wednesday that this Ohio lawsuit could “rebalance federalism” and rein in the broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause articulated by the Supreme Court in 1942 with Wickard v. Filburn.
The Ohio-based free-market public policy think tank initiated the case in January on behalf of John Ream from Licking County, Ohio.
Ream launched Trek Brewing Company in Newark in 2017 after 10-years of home brewing as a hobby. At issue is his interest to distill a small amount of whiskey at home for his personal consumption – apart from his family-owned business.
However, federal laws govern home distilling. If authorities catch him, he could face felony charges, pay fines up to $10,000, and serve up to five years in prison. The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress the power to regulate trade and economic activities, justifies such regulations as they could potentially impact interstate commerce, even on a small scale at home.
In a video interview, Alt challenged the scope of congressional power by asking, “If Congress can prohibit home distilling, what’s to stop it from banning home bread baking, sewing, or vegetable gardening?”
He told The Star, “The government shouldn’t dictate what you can or can’t produce.”
Ream seeks to overturn the federal ban on the home distilling of spirited beverages, arguing that it exceeds Congress’ authority under Article I of the U.S. Constitution and infringes on the 10th Amendment. The case is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
Alt (pictured above) told The Star that the Wickard decision drastically altered the constitutional balance of powers as the Founding Fathers intended. He said he believes that the Ream could restore the proper distribution of powers between the federal and state governments, providing a crucial opportunity to correct what he sees as federal overreach and realign it closer to the original vision of federalism in the U.S. Constitution.
Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Ohio Star and The Star News Network, said he thinks that leveraging arguments from the 2005 Gonzales v. Raich case, where the Supreme Court upheld Congress’ power to criminalize homegrown marijuana even in states where it is legal, could enhance the success of the Ream case.
Ohio, the birthplace of prohibition, also produced Mr. Filburn, the small farmer at the center of the Wickard case. If successful, this Ohio case could legalize home distilling of spirits.
Alt told The Star, “There’s a certain poetry in it.”
Read Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury.
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Christy Kelly is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Christy on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Robert Alt” by The Buckeye Institute.
