In the case of U.S. v Marcavage, in a decision handed down by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third District on Wednesday, the conviction of Michael Marvacage for violating the terms of a permit and interfering with agency function was overturned.

According to the court records, “Michael Anthony Marcavage led an anti-abortion demonstration on a sidewalk in front of the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. When park rangers ordered him to move to a nearby location away from the sidewalk and granted him a verbal permit to demonstrate there, Marcavage refused until he was forcibly removed. He was cited for violating the terms of a permit and interfering with agency function. A Magistrate Judge convicted him of both offenses and rejected his First Amendment defense, a ruling upheld by the District Court.

“We conclude that Marcavage’s permit violation must be vacated because the verbal permit he was issued was invalid and that his interference conviction must be vacated because it was obtained in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.”

The appeals court tossed the two charges on free-speech and procedural grounds. The three-judge panel said Marcavage caused no more of a disturbance than other people near the Liberty Bell entrance, including a cancer-survivors group and the drivers of horse-drawn carriages hawking their services.

Arguing the case for the defendant/appellant was S. Scott Shields of the law firm of Shields and Hoppe in Media, PA

Outside of the Philadelphia area, no major newspapers are yet covering this story.

To read the entire filing from the court, go to http://bit.ly/9S8WAS