An Ohio man is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his challenge to a federal prohibition on making liquor by distilling at home. The case stems from laws that allow criminal penalties for home distillers, including felony charges, potential fines, and prison time.
The ban at issue is described by outlets as more than 150 years old. Both reports say the defendant, identified as John Ream, argues that the longstanding rule should not apply in the way federal authorities enforce it today. Fox News and the New York Post frame the matter as a direct effort to overturn or change the reach of the historic prohibition, with the focus on whether the Supreme Court will agree to take the case. Neither outlet reports a court decision beyond noting Ream’s hope that the Supreme Court will review the dispute.
