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Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 502 (2026)

 Justification a defense.

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§ 502.  Justification a defense.

In any prosecution based on conduct which is justifiable under this chapter, justification is a defense.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1984–2024 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Samuel, 590 A.2d 1245 (Pa. 1991).
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Commonwealth v. Samuel, 590 A.2d 1245 (Pa. 1991). · cites it 2× “[3] Throughout this entire episode, including the arrival of a rescue team and the police, the Bregenzer's 5 year old daughter, Gina, was asleep on the couch in the living room.”
Commonwealth v. Berrigan, 472 A.2d 1099 (Pa. 1984). · cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. § 502. *285 The general rule is contained in 18 Pa.”
Thornburgh v. Am. Coll. of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986). · cites it 2× “Under Pennsylvania criminal law, justification is a defense, see 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 502 (1982), and, under the general rule of justification, conduct is deemed justified if "the actor believes [it] to be necessary to avoid a harm or evil to.”
Com. v. Thomas, T., No. 828 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 26, 2017). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 502. Section 506(a) of the Code provides: The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable to protect a third person when: (1) the actor would be justified under section 505 (relating to use of force in self-protection) in using such force to…”
Com. v. Moore, K., No. 1123 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 27, 2017). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 502. Section 505 of the Crimes Code explains that the use of force upon another person “is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person…”
Com. v. Sanchez, J., No. 73 MDA 2023 (Pa. Super. Ct. Jan. 2, 2024). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 502. We have explained that [t]he use of force against a person is justified when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by the other person.”
Com. v. Turner, D., No. 60 MDA 2023 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 14, 2024). “See 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 502, 505. We have explained that -6- J-S03019-24 [t]he use of force against a person is justified when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by the other person.”
Deyo v. Eck, No. 5:23-cv-01658 (E.D. Pa. June 5, 2023). “§ 312 (de minimis infractions); 18 Pa. C.S. § 502 (justification a defense); 18 Pa.”
Com. v. Bentley, J., No. 2081 EDA 2023 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 9, 2024). “See 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 502, 505. We have explained that [t]he use of force against a person is justified when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by the other person.”
Com. v. Baptiste, D., No. 3304 EDA 2019 (Pa. Super. Ct. July 9, 2021). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 502. We have explained that [t]he use of force against a person is justified when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by the other person.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.