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Criminal Law keyed to Dripps
Commonwealth v. Capitolo
Facts
Ignoring the clearly visible “No Trespass” sign, Capitolo and others (Defendants) crawled under a fence surrounding a power plant and sat down holding hands in protest. A plant security guard told the group to leave or otherwise be arrested for trespassing. Defendants remained and were subsequently physically removed from the property by deputy sheriffs and each charged with criminal trespass. There were no injuries that resulted from the group’s actions and no damage to property. At trial, Defendants attempted to rely on the state’s “choice of evils” law to justify that their conduct was necessary to avoid a greater harm, but their request for a jury instruction on the matter was rejected by the trial court. Defendants were convicted and they appealed. The court of appeals reversed and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted review.
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