This morning, the Idaho Attorney General and Director of the Idaho State Liquor Division was informed that Ogden’s Own Distillery has retained my services to challenge the decision to block sales of “Five Wives Vodka” in Idaho. The businesses in Idaho were denied the right to “special order” the vodka because it was viewed as offensive to the large Mormon population in the state. The state also denied “general listing” to allow stores to sell the product. As on our other cases, I have to be circumspect on what I can say about the case in light of the pending litigation.
The letter below informs the state of the decision to seek judicial relief unless the state reverses its decision to block special orders as well as its policy to bar sales based on the need to protect religious sensibilities. The letter states in part:
Throughout this process, Ogden’s Own has tried to discuss and resolve any problems or concerns with your agency. They applied for entry into the Idaho market in good faith as they have done in other states. Idaho is the only state to raise religious and social sensibilities as a basis to deny entry to this product. To make matters worse, the agency proceeded to engage in public attacks on the company and its products. Mr. Wasserstein opted to inform third parties that the product was an insult to Mormons and later pledged that it would never be sold in the State of Idaho. He then expanded these attacks with criticism of the picture on the bottle, suggesting a bizarre misogynist hidden message. When public criticism grew over the use of religious sensibilities as a criterion for blocking the sale of a product, both Mr. Wasserstein and yourself proceeded to attack the quality of the vodka—disparaging both the product and the producers at this small distillery. Just last Friday, you were quoted attacking the product as “low class” and not “something we want to have on our shelf, sitting next to Absolut vodka.”
My clients would be the last to disagree with your praise and high regard for Absolut vodka. They have never disparaged other products. Just as the distillers in Sweden are rightfully proud of Absolut, the distillers of Ogden’s Own are equally proud of their product. While they are tiny in comparison to the Swedish company, these American distillers resent your suggestion that they should not be seen on the same shelf with Absolut. I am, frankly, astonished by the vitriol and venom directed at this small company because it had the temerity to ask to enter the Idaho market and then objected to being blocked by religious sensibilities.
There is no reason for Ogden’s Own to respond tit-for-tat to these public attacks by you and Mr. Wasserstein. Unlike your vodka of choice, your power is not absolute. We have a court system designed to protect citizens and companies from arbitrary and abusive governmental actions. It is clear from the continuing attacks from your office that nothing short of a lawsuit will compel your agency to reconsider its decision as well as its underlying policy.
I am honored to represent Ogden’s Own in what is an important case involving free speech and due process. We are committed to vindicating the rights of this small distillery and its right to market its product. This case may test the limits of the government in advancing the sectarian demands of any religious groups and the exercise of arbitrary power. Frankly, to paraphrase the Irish proverb, the exercise of arbitrary power “is sweet to drink but bitter to pay for.” I am remain hopeful that the state will reconsider its actions and allow bars and citizens in Idaho to buy to exercise their own judgment on buying this and other products.
Jonathan Turley
Here is the letter sent this morning to the Idaho officials: Letter.Anderson.Five Wives
Mike,
As a aficionado of good vodka, I would like to take partial exception with your comment. While the flavor is neutral, the drinking experience varies vastly by distiller and ingredients. For example, the paragon that is potato vodka is a sublime pleasure compared to the horror that is rice vodka. A really good chilled vodka is a pleasure – almost like drinking nothing at all but the essence of cold. A really bad one is the worst rotgut rocket fuel imaginable. The pleasure from good vodka has nothing to do with the taste, but with the sensation created by drinking itself.
Gene,
My point exactly the pleasure is in the drinking with vodka. However, with tequila for instance the difference between Patron and Cuevo is the taste.
Various gins also differ in taste as do scotches, bourbons etc. When I drink, which isn’t often I drink tequila and have for forty years. I do like the taste but the real resson is it was the only liquor back in the day that never made me nauseous when I over-indulged. As I’ve aged I find I only feel like drinking socially.
Epic smack down of stoopid government Mr. Turley. Best of luck, I’ll be watching this one, even if it’s so I can see the comedy unfold as the state tries to defend this.
Very well-written demand letter. I will be following this one closely.
You go Professor!
Although some here might superficially believe that I am for all things controlled by government, those States in the liquor monopoly business have always puzzled me. There is no need for a State liquor monopoly and much reason not to have one. This decision was obviously made to curry political favor with the LDS. The basis of Prohibition came from religion, as in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. When it ended many States sought to gain financial benefit from legalization, by using “moral” (religious) grounds to justify the monopoly. I would expect a prompt victory in this particular case since there are no legal grounds for it. If the State of Idaho was out of the liquor business, individual store owners could choose whether or not they wanted to stock this Vodka.
Despite protestations to the contrary by those who would present themselves as connoisseurs of liquor, Vodka by definition is 100% grain neutral spirits and thus is tasteless. While really inexpensive vodkas may at times be harsher to drink, they all taste the same.
Darren Smith 1, June 6, 2012 at 11:29 am
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Washington’s voters approved a measure to get the state out of the liquor monopoly business. The state was forced to sell off all the liquor stores and I bought one of them. I bought the Tumwater store
I will talk to my distributors today and see if they can wholesale this to me. If I can get it I will buy some cases and display them prominently with the words “Banned in Idaho”.
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I would like to thank the Idaho Gov’t for advertising this product otherwise I might have not heard of it so readily.
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That “Banned in Idaho” is sure to increase sales. Good tactic!
According to a new email from Wasserstein, he banned the vodka because the women on the label are from a naughty 1890’s vaudeville act http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2012/06/idaho-bans-wicked-sex-enjoying-women.html
I recall reading somewhere that some Muslim countries had banned Sesame Street because of Miss Piggy as well as cartoons with Porky Pig. Also, I seem to recall hearing about Donald Duck being banned somewhere because he did not wear pants.
Ridiculous and silly from a purely common sense point of view.
From a legal point of view it opens up a door that would make every single product/service illegal.
It is as insane as places like Ireland having blasphemy laws. You can have such laws in places where there is no religious freedom and the protection is granted to single or hand-picked religions.
However when you have freedom of religion anything and everything can be labeled blasphemy including blasphemy laws.
If a religion claims that this label offends them then thanks to religious freedom laws to ban the label because the women’s faces are bare. Furthermore you can claim your religion frowns on depictions of animals or people on alcoholic beverages or even that it frowns on not having depictions of animals or people.
No matter what is on the label it could be denounced as insulting to someone.
Professor Turley,
I went to Boise State. Idaho state government is dominated by the Mormon establishment. I’m sure the small distillery in Utah is honored you took their case and greatly appreciates your assistance.
When I was there the belief was that if a Mormon wife had six children she got her own planet.
“Unlike your vodka of choice, your power is not absolute.”
Clever.
(third attempt at posting)
Washington’s voters approved a measure to get the state out of the liquor monopoly business. The state was forced to sell off all the liquor stores and I bought one of them. I bought the Tumwater store
I will talk to my distributors today and see if they can wholesale this to me. If I can get it I will buy some cases and display them prominently with the words “Banned in Idaho”.
Why? BECAUSE I CAN”
I would like to thank the Idaho Gov’t for advertising this product otherwise I might have not heard of it so readily.
Since Mormons supposedly don’t drink alcohol, I wonder why they allow the sales of any alcoholic beverages? Aren’t they all offensive? Ok, so it isn’t the vodka, it’s the label as Barkindog says. The five wives could be one at a time for one man, or all at the same time for five different men, or a remembrance of the Mormon past of one man with five wives. I have even attended events of five (or more) wives. These events are known as baby showers, quilting bees, paint-alongs.
This is the state acting on behalf of a religion against the free speech of a corporation. The corporation is people, you know, and is entitled to all the protections of the first amendment.
I believe that you can boost the case by giving the label on the bottle a wee bit more substance under the First Amendment. The label is the medium, not the vodka. The label could include a famous quote from a famous man from Missouri who was not president but who was an explorer and wrote a book called Roughing It. Here is his message on mormon women and the great service their husbands do in taking more than one wife.
From Roughing It:
Our stay in Salt Lake City amounted to only two days, and therefore we had no time to make the customary inquisition into the workings of polygamy and get up the usual statistics and deductions preparatory to calling the attention of the nation at large once more to the matter.
I had the will to do it. With the gushing self-sufficiency of youth I was feverish to plunge in headlong and achieve a great reform here—until I saw the Mormon women. Then I was touched. My heart was wiser than my head. It warmed toward these poor, ungainly and pathetically “homely” creatures, and as I turned to hide the generous moisture in my eyes, I said, “No–the man that marries one of them has done an act of Christian charity which entitles him to the kindly applause of mankind, not their harsh censure–and the man that marries sixty of them has done a deed of open-handed generosity so sublime that the nations should stand uncovered in his presence and worship in silence.”
–Mark Twain.
The label on the bottle depicts some homely mormon wives. It is said that one would need one full bottle of the vodka each day if one were married to five homely mormon women. So, a man with one homely wife could make the bottle last five days. A man with a real mean, snotty, bitchy wife could make the bottle last about five hours. Thus the depiction of the wives on the label is not without context or guidance. A guy walking the floor of the liquor store in Idaho, with a large canteen on the mule outside the door, can thus choose his medicine, his antidote if not cure for other bad decisions in life. If he has already chosen one form of single sex marriage to one women or single sex marriage to five, he can now choose the antidote.
This goes right to the heart of religion and the right to preach religion protected under the religion prong of the First Amendment. Further, it goes to the right to petition one’s government for the redress of grievances. The bottle is the medium and the medium is the message. A drunk mormon is petitioning his government by having the bottle on display in the state liquor store for the state senators, state representatives and voters to see.
So, Jonathan, there you have it. Your Brief to the Supreme Court of Idaho or to the United States District Court can include the foregoing. I would use the Twain description. But, if you are timid then perhaps never the Twain shall meet the Idaho courts, state or federal.
BarkinDog (a free speech lawyer in a prior incarnation)
I have no idea why the Utah folks think it must be five current wives. There are lots of guys who have had five wives, and the reason for that may be overuse of the product advertised. So it may not be a good label for the vodka, or it may be their contribution to spreading a subliminal message to drink responsibly.
“involved in, Utah”
If this ends up like the last wives case JT was involved in, Idaho “Five Wives Vodka” lovers will not “stay thirsty my friends,” if you know what I mean.
Did you not receive the memo from Attorney General Eric Holder informing you that secret Executive Branch deliberations constitute all the “process” due to you or anyone else?
And just ignore that buzzing sound you hear overhead as you engage in “suspicious patterns of activity.” Nothing to worry about, as some posthumous evidence may come to light exonerating your memory.
Must make a correction– churchs will have a field day….
Automatic “correction” can be wrong.
Congratulations and good luck. If this rule is upheld Church’s will have a field day criminalizing criticism, satire and anything they don’t like.
I would argue that the ad is not offensive because it does not bump the number up to the magic Eight Wives.