The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
17 results across all types
- news
Challenge to wine retailer shipping ruling targets SCOTUS conservative wing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyI9flHHT2Q&list=RDvyI9flHHT2Q&start_radio=1 On June 5th, the state of Ohio filed a challenge to the 6th Circuit’s ruling in Block v. Canepa, which held that Ohio’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law was unconstitutional for violating the dormant Commerce Clause and that the law did not properly serve health and safety interest. The State of Ohio filed [...]
- news
Ohio appeals wine retailer shipping decision to the U.S. Supreme Court
On June 5th, Ohio notified the Sixth Circuit that it has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, appealing the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Block v. Canepa, which held that Ohio’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law and alcohol importation restriction laws as unconstitutional. It further requested that the filing [...]
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Why we sued California over winery distribution laws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2R2KXNQR1M&list=RDU2R2KXNQR1M&start_radio=1 On February 24, 2026, my co-counsel, Gillian Garrett and I filed suit against the State of California challenging laws that allow California wineries to sell directly to California retailers without using a wholesaler, while denying those same privileges to out-of-state wineries. We believe California’s system violates the dormant Commerce Clause by granting in-state [...]
- news
Ohio files Motion to Stay Mandate in Wine Shipping Case
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBte_o5JpJA&list=RDjBte_o5JpJA&start_radio=1 A week after its discriminatory wine retailer shipping law was found unconstitutional by the Sixth Circuit, Ohio filed a motion to stay the Sixth Circuit’s mandate. In the first line of the motion Ohio AG Dave Yost states that Ohio intends to file a writ of certiorari in this case with SCOTUS and the deadline [...]
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California Wine Lawsuit Update: The State Moves to Dismiss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Kv6vxZwL8&list=RDE0Kv6vxZwL8&start_radio=1 In February, I announced a lawsuit that I filed with my co-counsel, Gillian Garrett, on behalf of Blue Sky Vineyards (an Illinois winery) and The Wine Country (a California retailer in Signal Hill). The case asks a focused question: when California allows in-state wineries to sell wine directly to California retailers, can it [...]
- news
Petitioners file supplemental brief at SCOTUS following 6th Circuit decision
One day after the Sixth Circuit decision held Ohio’s wine retailer shipping law and alcohol transportation restrictions unconstitutional, the petitioners challenging Arizona’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law filed a Supplemental Brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition has centered on a growing split among the circuits over how courts should analyze discriminatory alcohol shipping [...]
- news
Sixth Circuit holds Ohio retailer shipping restrictions unconstitutional
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh1dVptApmc&list=RDeh1dVptApmc&start_radio=1 The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court decision upholding Ohio’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law and its law limiting Ohio residents from transporting wine into the state. As the Court stated “We thus hold the Direct Ship Restriction unconstitutional.” The Sixth Circuit held that the district court’s focusing its Tennessee Wine [...]
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When the Three-Tier System Stops Working
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR8D2yqgQ1U&list=RDAR8D2yqgQ1U&start_radio=1 Mississippi’s alcohol distribution system is breaking down in real time. Deliveries that once took two or three days are now taking five to six weeks. The state’s own wholesale arm has been slowed by software failures and operational delays, leaving retailers without the inventory they depend on to stay in business. This is not [...]
- news
Wholesalers worsening the bottleneck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyI9flHHT2Q&list=RDvyI9flHHT2Q&start_radio=1 A very telling article written by Alfonso Cevola, who worked as the Italian Wine Director for Southern Glazer Wine & Spirits (Southern) for nearly 30 years, demonstrates how the wholesale tier changed their practices to worsen the bottleneck crisis for small wineries. Yes, the same tier that lobbies to take away market opportunities [...]
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The Encyclopedia on California and Trade Practice Policies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwXjU0LmQ1U&list=RDEKbkArYyics&index=22 A recently released book by Gillian Garrett represents a meaningful advancement in the liquor regulatory space. Distilling Alcohol Law: Federal & California Unfair Trade Practices is a comprehensive and highly practical guide for attorneys, consultants, and industry professionals navigating the complex landscape of tied-house laws and trade practice regulations. With a particular focus on [...]
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Will Hemp become regulated like Liquor in Illinois?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aeETEoNfOg&list=RD4aeETEoNfOg&start_radio=1 HB 5452 was introduced last month in Illinois with the ambitious goal of bringing hemp under the Illinois Liquor Control Act (ILCA). The bill proposes to rename the law, the Liquor and Hemp Products Control Act and would establish the Hemp Products Commission as a division of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC). [...]
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Irish Liquor Lawyer in Wine Spectator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL-XuHAgK80&list=RDBL-XuHAgK80&start_radio=1 I am honored to be in Wine Spectator discussing the U.S. Supreme Court cert petition filed challenging the Ninth Circuit's decision in Day v. Henry. The Supreme Court should grant cert in this case as the circuits have muddled the case and there is no clear standard which applies. As the Wine Spectator [...]
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Systematic Southern Wine and Spirits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LweprdlHnCw&list=RDLweprdlHnCw&start_radio=1 Another indictment was handed down last week by a federal grand jury in the case involving Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits (Southern). Five high-level employees were indicted for allegedly participating in a bribery scheme involving Albertsons and for falsifying records to conceal the conduct (According to the San Francisco Chronicle). Unlike the Watergate scandal—where [...]
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Chicago’s New Liquor Tax System – Effective March 1, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0saZiLV7-7E&list=RD0saZiLV7-7E&start_radio=1 March comes in like a lion in Chicago, as starting March 1, 2026 the liquor tax system changes. Previously there was a gallonage tax remitted by wholesalers for the sale of liquor in Chicago. The new system changes the status quo and makes it a bifurcated tax collection system. Off-Premise/Package Goods For off [...]
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Irish Liquor Lawyer and Gillian Garrett Law Sue California to Even the Playing Field for Out-of-State Wineries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwcvjNJTuM&list=RD0LwcvjNJTuM&start_radio=1 I filed a lawsuit[1] today against the State of California under Section 1983 for laws that violate the Commerce Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clause. Joining me in this lawsuit is premier California alcohol law attorney Gillian Garrett of Gillian Garrett Law, PC Gillian and I disdain discriminatory state laws that impede [...]
- news
Does Misery Love Company
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm51ihfi1p4&list=RDbm51ihfi1p4&start_radio=1 As Congress has less than a year to decide the fate of the hemp beverage industry, there is a lot of buzz about how it will be regulated. Will the alcohol three-tier regulatory system be imposed on it, or will hemp beverages enjoy a freer market than its alcohol compatriot.? WSWA is gearing [...]
- news
Irish Liquor Lawyer authors SCOTUS Amicus Brief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0vM9iINl28&list=RDp0vM9iINl28&start_radio=1 In support of cert petitioner challenging the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Day v. Henry, upholding Arizona’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law, I filed an Amicus Brief. The cert petition and the amicus take aim at how far afield the circuits have become in adjudicating whether a discriminatory wine retailer shipping law can withstand [...]