B-21 Wines, Inc., et al. v. Hank Bauer, Chair, North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission

This Court has repeatedly held that the Twentyfirst Amendment is limited by the nondiscrimination principle of the Commerce Clause. A state law that protects local liquor interests from interstate competition is unconstitutional unless the State presents concrete evidence that discriminating against out-of-state entities is reasonably necessary to protect public health and safety. Tenn. Wine & Spirits Retailers Ass’n v. Thomas, 139 S.Ct. 2449, 2470 (2019); Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460, 487 (2005); Healy v. Beer Inst., 491 U.S. 324, 342 (1989); Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias, 468 U.S. 263, 276 (1984). Departing from these precedents, the Fourth Circuit (over a strong dissent) upheld a discriminatory North Carolina wineshipping law without subjecting it to Commerce Clause scrutiny. It held that the Twenty-first Amendment gave states authority to regulate retail wine distribution that was not limited by the nondiscrimination principle. The question, upon which the circuits disagree, is: Does the nondiscrimination principle of the Commerce Clause apply to and invalidate North Carolina’s law allowing only in-state retailers to ship wine to consumers, or is the law constitutional under the Twenty-first Amendment because the Commerce Clause does not apply to laws regulating retail wine distribution?