Columbus, OH — On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed its response brief in McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice—one of The Buckeye Institute’s two cases challenging the unconstitutional federal prohibition on home distilling—with the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its response, The Buckeye Institute urged the Supreme Court to grant review of McNutt and also Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury.

“By reviewing both cases, the U.S. Supreme Court can consider the scope and reach of Congressional power under the commerce clause, taxing power, and necessary and proper clause to regulate activities undertaken in the home,” said Andrew M. Grossman, senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute, partner in BakerHostetler’s Washington, D.C. office, and counsel of record for the case. “The Buckeye Institute strongly agrees that the U.S. Supreme Court should grant certiorari in McNutt as well as in Ream.”

The Buckeye Institute argues that addressing McNutt and Ream is critical to resolving the direct conflict between the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (which upheld the federal ban on home distilling) and the Fifth Circuit (which declared that same federal ban on home distilling to be unconstitutional). The Buckeye Institute additionally urged the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review in both of these two cases in order to consider the full scope and reach of Congressional authority under not only its taxing power and the necessary and proper clause, but—critically—also the scope of Congressional power under the commerce clause, which is presented only in Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury.

“The importance of the fundamental constitutional questions in these two cases being addressed together can hardly be overstated,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute and a lead attorney on both cases. “At stake are nothing less than the cornerstones of America’s system of government—federalism and limited government.”

Read more about The Buckeye Institute’s cases and stay up-to-date on their progress at: BuckeyeInstitute.org/McNuttvDOJ and BuckeyeInstitute.org/ReamvUSTreasury.

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