Bovine Buccaneers
Like those human beings who believe that fame and fortune always lie in some land distant from their own, the cows of the Dale Andrews farm in West Salem, Mercer County, were not satisfied to browse and chew their cuds in their own pasture. They were certain that in the fields across the highway which bordered their owner's domain, the grass was greener, the earth fresher, the trees shadier, and the skies above bluer. Thus from time to time they would leave their own preserves and invade the Bosley farm on the other side of the road where, with the spirit of bovine buccaneers, they devoured their neighbor's corn and wheat, destroyed his vegetable gardens, knocked over young peach trees, damaged the apple orchard, mangled berry bushes, and eventually departed, leaving behind them a wide swath of ruin and destruction. They sometimes went away of their own accord, but frequently they had to be driven back to their home territory by the Bosleys.
Court opinions are often dry but read the rest of Justice Musmanno's dissent in the case of Bosley v. Andrews.
Generations of law students have smiled whenever assigned to read one of Musmanno's opinions.
[Photo by Theo Laconte at Unsplash]
2 comments:
I thought Winston Churchhill was the most thorough, itemized, and footnoted author in my reading experience. I stand corrected. The dissenting opinion was extraordinary. The cows may never come home.
Walt,
Justice Musmanno had quite a life.
His judicial opinions are always worth reading. I'm glad you liked this.
Michael
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