Buckley v. City of Falls Church

Opinion

BARROW, J.

In this criminal appeal we decide that necessity is not a defense to a charge of trespassing on the premises of a women’s medical clinic in order to give anti-abortion literature to patients considering an abortion. The defense of necessity is not available to these defendants since there were reasonable and legal alternatives to their violation of the law.

The defense of necessity traditionally addresses the dilemma created when physical forces beyond the actor’s control renders “illegal conduct the lesser of two evils.” United States v. Bailey, 444 U.S. 394, 410 (1980). If…