A Maryland law that prohibits out-of-state breweries from shipping directly to in-state consumers is unconstitutional, a federal court said.
“Maryland authorizes out-of-state wine producers to ship their products to Maryland consumers. Out-of-state beer producers should be permitted to do the same,” Judge Richard D. Bennett said Tuesday for the US District Court for the District of Maryland, enjoining enforcement of the scheme.
State liquor-law regulations lay at the cross-roads of the 21st Amendment and the dormant commerce clause, and the 21st Amendment generally supersedes the dormant commerce clause. For example, a North Carolina law that prevented a Florida wine retailer ...