Wal-Mart wins challenge to state refusal of liquor licenses

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a Texas state agency from withholding from Wal-Mart licenses to sell liquor by the bottle.

In a 50-page ruling signed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman of Austin, Texas, concurred with Wal-Mart's constitutional challenge to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission refusal of licenses for retail liquor sales.

The giant retailer wants to get into the business of selling liquor in Texas but argued that restrictions on package liquor licenses, some dating to the end of Prohibition, amounted to unconstitutional discrimination.

There was no response to a message late Tuesday to a commission spokesman.