Investigating “Good Moral Character” for Liquor License Applications

Authors

Benjamin J. Kweskin

Abstract

Since the repeal of prohibition, nearly every state has adopted a morality test on whether a person is fit to hold a liquor license. Missouri is no exception, adopting good moral character through § 311.060, RSMo in 1939. Eighty-three years later, on August 30, 2022, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control codified a definition of “good moral character” limiting the inquiry to “honesty, fairness, and respect for the rights of others and for the laws of the state and nation.” This definition appears to nod to both Missouri’s Administrative Hearing Commission as well as other regulated industries’ coded rules. Nebraska adopts a similar, but negative, standard using the phrase “not of good character” as an investigation determining whether the applicant has a lack of good faith or honesty of pur-pose. Despite no guidance from the 21st Amendment, states have come to similar conclusions about what “good moral character” actually means. Regardless of broad language like “honesty,” “respect,” “fairness,” and “good faith,” the outcomes are surprisingly consistent nationwide and vary only on the fringes.

First Page

152

Recommended Citation

Benjamin J. Kweskin, Investigating “Good Moral Character” for Liquor License Applications, 8 Bus. Entrepreneurship & Tax L. Rev. 152 (2024).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/betr/vol8/iss1/7