Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Juanita Swendenburg 

Mrs. Swendenburg is the vineyard owner who was the driving force behind the Supreme Court case on interstate wine shipments. It turns out that yesterday was the ultimate definition of a bitter-sweet day for her. While she won the judicial battle, May 16th was also the 1 year anniversary of the death of her husband, who was engaged in his own fight with cancer during her 5 year legal struggle.

Here is how the Institute for Justice became involved:

When Swendenburg learned that selling wine might have made her a criminal, she started years of nudging and cajoling one of her customers, Clint Bolick, a lawyer at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm in the District. It took five years of nagging, she said, but Bolick decided to take the case -- then took it to the nation's highest court.
She comments that her husband stood behind her throughout her crusade. Our family met Mrs. Swendenburg years ago on a trip to Middleburg, Virginia.

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