The Vermont supreme court reviewed several cases as it gathered Wednesday in a Vermont Law School lecture hall packed with observers.
Among the cases heard Wednesday was the appeal of William Schenk, a North Carolina man who left Ku Klux Klan recruitment fliers at the houses of two minority women in Burlington last year. He was convicted in April of two counts of disorderly conduct and an enhanced sentence because it was considered a hate crime.
A lawyer for Schenk argued that his distribution of fliers was constitutionally protected speech.
Lawyers for the state arguing to maintain the conviction said that Schenk targeted these two women and did break the disorderly conduct law.
Justices can take one month to a year to issue their decisions.
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