And so it begins
On May 16, 2005, the US Supreme Court decided Granholm v. Heald. On May 20, 2005, the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission sent a letter to each of Indiana’s 31 wineries warning them that shipment to an in-state resident is a misdemeanor.
This took the Indiana wineries by surprise, as previous interpretations of the law left such shipment permissible, and many wineries reap a significant portion of their sales from deliveries:
J. Alexander Tanford, a professor of law at Indiana University, said he does not understand why the commission has changed its interpretation of law, but suspects that wholesalers may have had something to do with it.
Link.
That is the trouble with alcohol regulation. It is hard to sort out how much of the law is there to provide protection for the public from a dangerous substance, and how much is there to protect entrenched financial interests.
May 31st, 2005 21:10
I seem to recall Tanford having some involvement in alcohol making of some sort. I don’t recall if it was wine or beer — or if I’m misremembering entirely. I know that the Property Law professor, Jeff Stake had a home brew operation. Barrister’s Brew, I believe he called it.