The Constitution’s commerce clause prohibits Tennessee from imposing a residency requirement on applicants seeking retail licenses to sell alcoholic beverages, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a case affecting the locations and types of alcohol available to consumers.

In Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito Jr., writing for a 7-2 majority, said, “Because Tennessee’s two-year residency requirement for retail license applicants blatantly favors the state’s residents and has little relationship to public health and safety, it is unconstitutional.”

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]