State legislation forbidding direct interstate shipment of wine, pushed by a cartel of distributors, was exactly the protectionist trade barrier the Constitution's Commerce Clause was designed to prevent; the 21st Amendment lets states regulate alcohol for health/safety but does not authorize economic protectionism, so such laws were rightly struck down 5-4.

causalpending

Speaker

Clint Bolick

Evidence Quote

the twenty-first amendment did not empower the states to engage in economic protectionism and so these laws were struck down

Source

Clint Bolick Defends Judicial Activism 10/31/2006EconTalk
Created: 6/16/2026, 2:24:20 PM

My Notes

Loading notes...