US appeals court declares 158-year-old home distilling ban unconstitutional

Published
April 11, 2026, 6:17 p.m
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The ban was part of a law passed during ⁠Reconstruction in July 1868, in part to thwart liquor tax evasion, and subjected violators ​to up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Writing for a three-judge panel, ​Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones said the ban actually reduced tax revenue by preventing distilling in the first place, unlike laws that regulated the manufacture and labeling of distilled spirits on which ​the government could collect taxes.

The court called it an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its authority to tax, as the ruling favors the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and some of its members
Department of Justice had no immediate comment
Another defendant, the ​Treasury Department’s Alcohol and ​Tobacco Tax and ⁠Trade Bureau, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Devin Watkins, a lawyer representing the Hobby Distillers Association, in an ​interview called the ruling an important decision about the limits of ​federal power.

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The decision upheld a July 2024 ​ruling by U.S
District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas
He put his ruling on hold so ​the government could appeal.