Home distilling ban
Department of Justice v. McNutt
In brief
- Where it stands
- Before Arguments
Argument not yet scheduled
- What it’s about
- The Department of Justice is challenging a Fifth Circuit ruling in Scott McNutt’s case that federal limits on making distilled spirits in homes and connected sheds or yards exceed Congress’s powers.
- What's at stake
- The dispute concerns whether the federal location ban may apply to Scott McNutt; the Supreme Court has not resolved that question.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Supreme Court agreed to hear whether Congress may impose those limits under its power to tax.
Federal law bars producing distilled spirits in a home or in a shed, yard, or enclosed area connected to it.
Question presented
Whether the prohibition on the production of distilled spirits in particular locations, including "in any dwelling house" or "in any shed, yard, or inclosure connected with any dwelling house," 26 U.S.C. 5178(a)(1)(B), is necessary and proper for carrying into execution Congress's enumerated power to lay and collect taxes?
What happens next
Expected by late June 2027, once argued
The Court granted review but has not yet scheduled oral argument. Once argued, the median case reaches a decision in 93 days. Nearly all cases are decided by the end of the term in which they are argued.
Docket activity
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Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.