The Supreme Court of Vermont heard oral arguments for six cases at Vermont Law School today.  The most titillating case concerned “Nutraloaf,” a nutritionally sound but unappetizing substance fed to Vermont prisoners who misuse their food, food utensils, or food “byproducts” (think of monkeys).  The issue was whether forcing convicts to eat Nutraloaf is a punishment, and therefore the convicts are entitled to due process.  The WCAX TV crews were there.  Papers across the country carried the story.  I guess any case that involves any type of “loaf” is automatically popular.

One case I enjoyed hearing (because the issues were simple enough for me to understand) concerned the owner of an apple orchard who sprayed his crops with pesticide.  The pesticides travelled through the air to a neighbor’s property, and apparently prevented him from building developments on that property. The issue was whether airborne pesticides create a trespass or nuisance cause of action.  In Vermont, farmers are protected from many nuisance cases but not from trespass cases.  Traditionally, trespass requires some unauthorized, tangible entry onto a person’s property.  Are pesticides tangible enough?  If they are, would other airborne particulates be tangible enough?  What about smell?  Can I sue the farm across the road for the frequent odor of manure that comes wafting onto our property in the summer?  I think it’s really interesting, and the concepts were simple enough that I could follow the arguments.  The case has a lot of potential implications for Vermont.

Supposedly the court holds its most interesting cases for argument at Vermont Law School.  They probably get a lot of dry cases.  There is no middle appeals court in Vermont, as in most states.  That means that after a case is tried at the trial court, any appeal goes directly to the Supreme Court.  Also, the Vermont Supreme Court has no discretion for declining cases.  They must hear all appeals.  This adds up to a heavy, largely uninteresting work load.

But we were lucky.  They brought the A-list today.