Opinion ID: 552172
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion of the Justification Defense

Text: 44 Prior to the contempt hearing, McMonagle filed a motion in limine, which, if granted, would have permitted him to introduce medical/scientific evidence regarding fetuses. McMonagle hoped to use this evidence as part of a justification defense to the contempt charge against him. The district court denied this motion, and McMonagle appeals. 45 We need not dwell on this issue, for McMonagle's proffered justification defense already has been rejected by this court in Northeast Women's Center, Inc. v. McMonagle, 868 F.2d 1342, 1350-52 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 261, 107 L.Ed.2d 210 (1989). That case, like this one, involved an action by a women's health center against a group of anti-abortion protesters. The protesters in McMonagle argued on cross-appeal that the district court erred in excluding evidence relating to their claim of justification. In rejecting this claim, we surveyed both federal and Pennsylvania law pertaining to the defense of justification. We noted that under federal law, a defendant's good-faith motive is not a viable defense, see United States v. Malinowski, 472 F.2d 850, 856-57 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 970, 93 S.Ct. 2164, 36 L.Ed.2d 693 (1973); United States v. Romano, 849 F.2d 812, 816 n. 7 (3d Cir.1988). Accordingly, the protesters could not assert justification as a defense to plaintiff's civil RICO claim. McMonagle, 868 F.2d at 1351. 46 Similarly, we noted that, under Pennsylvania law, a defendant seeking to assert a justification defense must show: 47 (1) that the actor was faced with clear and imminent harm ...; (2) that the actor could reasonably expect that [his/her] actions would be effective in avoiding this greater harm; (3) that there [was] no legal alternative [that would have been] effective in abating the harm; and (4) that the Legislature has not acted to preclude the defense by clear and deliberate choice regarding the values at issue. 48 Id. (quoting Commonwealth v. Capitolo, 508 Pa. 372, 378, 498 A.2d 806, 809 (1985)). In view of these requirements, we concluded that the justification defense was also unavailable to anti-abortion protesters under Pennsylvania law: 49 We emphasize in particular the numerous legal alternatives that Defendants had available to pursue their goal of persuading women not to have abortions. For example, they could continue to march, go door-to-door to proselytize their views, distribute literature, personally or through the mails, and contact residents by telephone, short of harassment. 50 McMonagle, 868 F.2d at 1352. 51 We are bound by the clear precedent of the prior McMonagle case. We find therefore that McMonagle's present claim of justification is not a defense to plaintiffs' federal and state claims and that evidence relating to it was properly excluded by the district court. 52