State Power to Regulate Alcohol Under the Twenty-First Amendment: The Constitutional Implications of the Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act

Over forty states have direct shipment laws prohibiting, or severely limiting, an individual’s ability to purchase wine from outside of the state and have it shipped home via a common carrier Congress recently proposed a bill entitled the Twenty first Amendment Enforcement Act (Enforcement Act”) that would authorize State Attorneys General to bypass the state courts and bring action in the federal courts to enforce direct shipment laws. This Note argues that direct shipment laws are unconstitutional, and that the proposed Enforcement Act cannot enable states to enforce these unconstitutional state laws.