United States Second Circuit

New York's Alcoholic Beverage Control Law violates the First Amendment insofar as it prohibits all commercial speech pertaining to the sale of alcoholic beverages directed to New York consumers by unlicensed entities. Its prohibition of the direct sale and shipment of wine from unlicensed wineries to New York consumers lies within the 21st Amendment and thus is exempted from the normal operation of the Commerce Clause.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/12/2004
• Published 02/12/2004

Judges

• WESLEY, Circuit J., Before:  NEWMAN, SOTOMAYOR, and WESLEY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Frederick P. Schaffer, Esq., New York, New York for City University of New York, State University of New York, Fordham University, and St. Francis College, Amicus Curiae., Louis R. Cohen, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, Washington, District of Columbia (C. Boyden Gray, Todd Zubler, on the brief) (M. Craig Wolf, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc., Washington, District of Columbia, of counsel) for Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc., National Association of Beverage Importers, American Beverage Licensees, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Coalition of Licensed Beverage Associations, and Presidents' Forum on the Beverage Alcohol Industry, Amicus Curiae., Elizabeth C. Dribusch, Glenmont, New York (Kathleen S. Holland on the brief) for New York Farm Bureau, Inc., Amicus Curiae., Robert S. Getman, New York, New York for WineAmerica, Amicus Curiae., Leah B. Warnick, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, Washington, District of Columbia (Michael J. Bearman, Daniel G. Jarcho, on the brief) for Consumer Alert, Amicus Curiae., Kenneth W. Starr, Kirkland & Ellis, Washington, District of Columbia (Kannon K. Shanmugam, Susan Kearns, Kirkland & Ellis, Tracy K. Genesen, Kirk E. Trost, Miller Owen & Trost, Sacramento, CA, on the brief) for Family Winemakers of California and Coalition for Free Trade, Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Clint Bolick, Institute for Justice, Washington, District of Columbia (William M. Mellor, Steven M. Simpson, Institute for Justice, Lance J. Gotko, Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, New York, New York, on the brief) for Plaintiffs-Appellees., Deon J. Nossel, Assistant Solicitor General, Department of Law, State of New York, New York, New York (Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General for New York State) (Caitlin J. Halligan, Solicitor General, Michael S. Belohlavek, Deputy Solicitor General, on the brief) for Defendants-Appellants., Randy M. Mastro, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, New York, New York (Michael G. Honeymar, Jr., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, New York, New York, Deborah A. Skakel, Victoria A. Kummer, Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP, New York, New York, J. Warren Mangan, O'Connor & Mangan, P.C., Long Island City, New York, Robert M. Heller, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, New York, New York, Alan J. Gardner, Verini & Gardner, New York, New York, John F. O'Mara, Davidson & O'Mara, Elmira, New York, on the brief) for Intervenor-Defendants-Appellants Peerless Importers Inc., Charmer Industries, Inc., Local 2d of the Allied Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Premier Beverage Company LLC, Metropolitan Package Store Association, Inc., and Eber Brothers Wine & Liquor Corp., Howard Graff, Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP, New York, New York for Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant Charmer Industries, Inc.