U.S. Supreme Court Weighs Petition to Legalize Home Distilling

Ohio aerospace engineer and brewery owner John Ream filed a petition asking the United States Supreme Court to hear his challenge to federal prohibitions on home distilling of spirits. Current law bars distilling in any dwelling or connected structure, with violations punishable by fines, forfeiture and imprisonment.

Ream argues that the ban creates an unjust disparity with home brewing and winemaking, which are permitted, and questions whether Congress’s Commerce Clause authority extends to such private activity. The case could become a test of federal versus state regulatory power over alcohol production.