Supreme Court to Review 1868 Ban on Distilling Spirits at Home
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a Reconstruction-era law from 1868 that prohibits distilling spirits in private homes, examining Congress's constitutional authority to enforce this ban.
Detroit, MI, October 19, 2026 —
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review an 1868 law that prohibits distilling spirits in private homes, taking up a question about Congress’s constitutional authority to enforce the ban.
The law dates to the Reconstruction era, the period identified in the summary, and bars private-home distilling. The court’s review will examine whether Congress has the constitutional authority to enforce that prohibition. The summary does not provide further details about the legal arguments or the specific circumstances that brought the issue before the court.
The court’s agreement to review the law does not, by itself, establish how the justices will rule. The information provided does not include a case name, the parties involved, the date the court agreed to hear the matter, a schedule for arguments or a deadline for a decision. It also does not describe any lower-court ruling.
No outcome has been reported in the summary. The central issue identified is the scope of Congress’s authority to enforce the 1868 prohibition, rather than a reported change to the law. Further details about the case and the court’s proceedings were not provided.
Story summarized from the original created by Associated Press on www.clickondetroit.com, see more information here.
Media gallery
