A federal appeals court on Friday tossed a 158-year-old ban on home distilling, finding it exceeded Congress’s constitutional authority to levy taxes.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members who challenged the Reconstruction-era prohibition, according to Reuters. Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones, writing for a three-judge panel, found the law actually suppressed tax revenue by outlawing distilling altogether rather than regulating and taxing it. Jones said the federal government’s reasoning could open the door to turning almost any domestic activity invisible to tax authorities into a crime.
“Without any limiting principle, the government’s theory would violate this court’s obligation to read the Constitution carefully to avoid creating a general federal authority akin to the police power,” Jones wrote, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Federal Judge Finds Americans Have Constitutional Right To Distill Moonshine In Their Bathtub)
The ruling affirmed a July 2024 decision by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas, who paused enforcement while the government appealed, Reuters reported. Pittman’s original decision found that Congress overstepped its power by turning home distilling into a felony.
A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its power to tax. https://t.co/wYF5OfnUVI
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) April 10, 2026
Congress passed the ban in July 1868 to combat liquor tax evasion during Reconstruction. Violators faced up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, Fox News reported. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation legalizing homebrewing in 1978, but home spirits production remained a federal crime.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a libertarian think tank, represented the plaintiffs. Attorney Andrew Grossman called the decision “an important victory for individual liberty” that lets the plaintiffs “pursue their passion to distill fine beverages in their homes,” according to Reuters.
The ruling does not affect state-level distilling regulations, which remain intact, according to CEI.