(The Center Square) – A central Ohio man is continuing his battle with the federal government to distill his own alcohol at home.
After the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed John Ream’s case in March, The Buckeye Institute recently filed its first brief in an appeal, saying the federal government’s ban on distilling of spirit beverages is unconstitutional.
The district court ruled that Ream lacks standing to sue because he has not actually suffered a legal injury from the federal prohibition.
“Since Mr. Ream cannot establish that he intends to engage in a course of conduct affected with a constitutional interest and proscribed by the challenged statutes, or that he faces a certainly impending threat of prosecution, he fails to plausibly allege a legal injury for purposes of standing,” the District Court wrote. “Without establishing that he suffered an injury in fact, he lacks standing to seek pre-enforcement review of the federal prohibition on home distilling.”
The Buckeye Institute says before the appellate court the District Court is denying Ream’s ability to justify his constitutional rights before being arrested.
“The District Court’s ruling denies Mr. Ream the ability to vindicate his constitutional rights without risking criminal liability by actually violating the home-distilling ban,” said Andrew M. Grossman, a senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute and a partner in BakerHostetler’s Washington, D.C., office, who is a lead attorney on the case. “Fortunately, the 6th Circuit’s own precedent allows Mr. Ream to challenge this unconstitutional law without opening himself up to prosecution.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, Ream, who lives in Licking County, sued the U.S. Department of 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.
