Question
ince 1990, when e-commerce became an integral part of the business world, buying goods over the Internet has been easier and cheaper than buying retail.
ince 1990, when e-commerce became an integral part of the business world, buying goods over the Internet has been easier and cheaper than buying retail. As a result, many small wineries (wine-producing companies) throughout the Unified States of Sobriety (USS) have been successfully operating. The small winery business is now booming, mostly because of direct online sales to consumers. Not surprisingly, retail store wine sales have steadily declined in recent years, reducing the demand for wholesalers and distributors. In 2018, the Inebriated State Liquor Authority (ISLA) passed a law requiring all wine marketed and sold to consumers inside SI be sold by in-state wineries, wholesalers, distributors, or retailers. The law also specifically prohibited any out-of-state winery from engaging in any direct retail or online sales to Inebriated citizens. In other words, out-of-state wineries were only permitted to sell their wine inside SI through an in-state company. Slick Willie Liquor (SW), the largest winery in the USS, is incorporated in and maintains its corporate offices and principal place of business in, the neighboring State of Wasteland. Due to their excessively high volume of sales, Slick Willie limits the wine that they produce to only the most popular varieties. SW engages in direct customer sales on their website as well through wholesalers and distributors doing business inside and outside SI.
Wanda Wino (WW), an Inebriated resident (SI) and loudmouth political activist, regularly buys wine in bulk directly from Slick Willie for her community rallies and demonstrations. On September 1, 2020, in preparing for several large protests scheduled before the November presidential election, Wino ordered several hundred cases of wine from Slick Willie. While most of the cases she ordered were Slick Willie's average quality of red and white wines, Wino ordered a dozen cases of a rare and expensive Australian wine named "Shiraz", which Slick Willie neither produces nor sells. Considering the amount of business that Wino gives Slick Willie, she called Bubba, Slick Willie's CEO, and begged him to obtain the Shiraz.Bubba replied, "Sure thing, hunnae, Ayeh'l do it for ya, as long as there's somethin' in it for me - ha, ha, ha - if ya know whad' aye mean!" Disgusted, Wino hung up the telephone and searched online for a winery that sells Shiraz directly to consumers. She located Texas Tank 'em (TT), a small "mom-and-pop" winery incorporated in the neighboring State of FUBAR that made and sold Shiraz wine. All of TT's sales were made online directly to customers through its website. Wino then called Tank 'em and ordered a dozen cases of Shiraz from Scott, the VP of sales, to be shipped directly from Tank 'em to Wino at her residence in SI. Although TT conducts much of its sales in FUBAR, its owner, Chump, encourages his sales staff to seek out consumers in other states. In fact, when Chump is sober and not tweeting, he often wanders aimlessly around the office saying, "You find 'em, we'll tank 'em." However, when members of Chump's sales staff ask him what states require a license to sell wine within that state, Chump, having no idea, tells them to ask BS, his office manager. BS, who always appears busy but never accomplishes a thing, becomes overwhelmed at answering the phone, writing a letter, or stuffing envelopes with promotional offers. BS is also often observed sighing and muttering under her breath that Chump is a sexist bully. More problematically, BS cannot keep any office information straight, especially those states require a license to sell wine inside its borders.
At the end of October, two weeks before Election Day, Wino went to Wasteland and held a rally in the center of Wasteland's capital downtown area at 2 PM. The rally blocked the only main street into and out of the downtown area causing it to shut down. Wino freely distributed Slick Willie's wine to everyone but kept Tank 'em's Shiraz for herself and close friends. The theme of the rally was: "Hey-hey, ho-ho - Chump & Co have gotta go; the USA & NSA must stay away; gotta save D.A. Dave." In fact, Wino also distributed t-shirts that had this theme printed on the front. On the back read "Sponsored by the People for an Angry World (PAW)." PAW is a religious group that believes in the free and unrestricted distribution of wine to adults, kids, babies, and animals in observance of the annual ritual of remaining in a perpetual state of drunkenness during the two weeks before Election Day. At the rally, Wino drank three bottles of Slick Willie's wine, and three bottles of TT's Shiraz, as did each of her friends. After becoming violently ill, Wino and her friends were rushed to the hospital. Wino spent several months unconscious in a coma, several more months in a rehabilitation center, and suffered permanent liver damage.
Respond to the following issues presented in each question by identifying the appropriate rule(s) and thoroughly analyzing the relevant applicable facts. You may neither create facts nor speculate as to facts not given. You may, and should, draw reasonable inferences from both the presence and/or absence of facts where appropriate.
2. The ISLA charged Slick Willie and Texas Tank 'em for violating SI's law prohibiting out-of-state wineries from conducting direct online sales to consumers within the state of Inebriation. Slick Willie and Texas Tank 'em then sued the ISLA claiming that the Inebriated's law is unconstitutional. If you were the judge, write an opinion explaining how you would rule. Are there any other constitutional clauses or provisions that SI's law might violate?
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