Federalism and Alcohol: A Resurgence of State Power to Regulate Alcohol in E-Commerce on Granholm's Twentieth Anniversary
Alcohol beverage regulatory attorney Jason Barker wrote an article for the University of Miami Law Review reflecting on the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Granholm decision on its 20th anniversary. Granholm v. Heald concerned the interplay between Section 2 of the 21st Amendment and the Commerce Clause, and the court held that states cannot regulate the importation of alcoholic beverages in a manner that discriminates against interstate commerce. In his article, Mr. Barker analyzes the legal and regulatory developments that have affected the alcohol industry post-Granholm, from how it interacts with the modern three-tier system to noteworthy cases such as federal circuit court rulings on challenges to retail direct-to-consumer bans, along with legislative movements at the state level, particularly those concerning e-commerce and online marketplaces.