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McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice |
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lisa Gates, vice president of communications
(614) 224-3255 or Lisa@BuckeyeInstitute.org
For more on The Buckeye Institute’s work to overturn the U.S. ban on home distilling, see: Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury.
Background of the Case
Plaintiffs Rick Morris, Scott McNutt, John Prince, and Thomas Cowdrey are members of the Hobby Distillers Association, an organization that advocates for at-home hobby distilling. Morris, who founded the organization, is a whiskey enthusiast, certified Bourbon steward, and owner of a company that manufactures stills. The others have experience with distilling and seek to pursue it as a hobby in their homes. But federal law criminalizes home distilling, which is why the Association and Messrs. Morris, McNutt, Prince, and Cowdrey challenged the prohibition as exceeding Congressional authority and unconstitutional. It is not only home distilling that is at stake in this case. If Congress can prohibit home distilling, what would stop it from banning home bread baking, sewing, or vegetable gardening?
The Buckeye Institute’s senior legal fellow Andrew M. Grossman argued the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which resulted in the blockbuster
decision holding that the home-distilling ban exceeds Congress’s authority under the taxing power and Necessary and Proper Clause.
McNutt serves as a companion to The Buckeye Institute’s other home-distilling case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, which is pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and also includes an important challenge to the Commerce Clause that has not yet been ruled upon.
Facts of the Case
Current Status
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling on April 10, 2026.
Case Number
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division: 4:23-CV-1221
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: 24-10760
Originally Filed
December 8, 2023
Original Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division
Plaintiff
Scott McNutt
Rick Morris
Thomas O. Cowdrey III
John Prince III
Hobby Distillers Association
Lawyers
Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer, The Buckeye Institute
Andrew M. Grossman, senior legal fellow, The Buckeye Institute, and partner, BakerHostetler LLP
Related Case
Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury
Timeline of the Case
April 10, 2026
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issues its ruling in favor of The Buckeye Institute’s clients in McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice, affirming the lower court’s ruling.
August 4, 2025
Andrew Grossman, senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute, presents the oral argument for The Buckeye Institute’s clients in McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice.