Mikell v. Town of Williston

This litigation has two aspects, both dealing with that unusual Vermont institution, the so-called “lease-lands”. At issue is the constitutionality of assigning rental income from such lands to concededly religious purposes.

Professor Walter T. Bogart’s definitive study of this form of land holding, “The Vermont Lease Lands”, published in 1950 by the Vermont Historical Society, is an invaluable background source for a full understanding of this litigation. It relieves this Court from the necessity of a long narrative of early history. However, some exposition is essential to make the issues of…