Author: JD Davidson
(The Center Square)—Organizations around the country have joined an Ohio man’s case to end a federal ban on homemade spirits.
Less than two weeks after John Ream appealed a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruling that dismissed his case, The Buckeye Institute announced five renowned policy groups have joined the fight.
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Cato Institute, Center for Individual Rights, Liberty Justice Center and the Southeastern Legal Foundation each filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals in support of Ream.
“What better way to celebrate our country’s 249th birthday than by defending the U.S. Constitution?” said Andrew M. Grossman, a senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute and partner at BakerHostetler’s Washington, D.C., office. “The Buckeye Institute is grateful for these five organizations that filed in support of Buckeye’s client John Ream of Licking County, Ohio, and we enthusiastically raise metaphorical glasses of fully legal non-home-distilled spirits to them.”
Grossman is a lead attorney on the case.
The District Court ruled that Ream lacks standing to sue because he has not actually suffered a legal injury from the federal prohibition.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Ream, who lives in Licking County, sued the U.S. Department of the Treasury to end the federal ban on home distilling of spirit beverages.
Before they were married, Ream’s wife Kristin gave him a home brewing kit. The Reams eventually opened Trek Brewing Co. in Newark in 2017. The business continues to grow, and Ream wants to try making his alcohol at home for his consumption.
“A timely and fitting way to honor our great nation’s independence and courageous founders is to recognize that Congress still possesses limited powers, which do not include the authority to regulate home distilling for personal consumption,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, and also a lead attorney.