Cooper v. McBeath

EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:

The chief question in this case is whether certain portions of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code (“Code”) violate the Commerce Clause and/or the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution. Finding that the dispute is not moot and that the plaintiffs possess ample standing to challenge the statutes, we determine that the Code’s durational residency and citizenship requirements amount to simple economic protectionism and therefore run afoul of the Commerce Clause. Moreover, the Twenty-first Amendment provides no sanctuary for these parochial…