Spill the Wine—the Out-of-State Wine

Thanks to a case argued by the nonprofit Institute for Justice, a federal judge just overturned New York's law prohibiting the interstate direct shipping of wine into the Empire State. The law had allowed New York wineries to ship within the state and that, the judge noted, was nothing but unconstitutional protectionism.

Said the Hon. Richard Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York:

The evidence here demonstrates, upon summary judgment, that the exceptions to [New York's wine-shipping law] provide an impermissible economic benefit and (protection) to only in-state interests?but also that there are nondiscriminatory alternatives available. Indeed, the Defendants explicitly concede the exceptions were intended to be protectionist.?