McTernan v. City of York, Pa

• Citation: 564 F.3d 636
• Decision Date: 27 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 07-4439.,No. 07-4438.,No. 07-4437.,07-4437.,07-4438.,07-4439.
• Parties: John McTERNAN, Appellant v. CITY OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA; Mayor John S. Brenner, in his official capacity; Police Commissioner Mark L. Whitman, in his official capacity; Sergeant Richard Barth, York Police Department, in his official and individual capacities.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)

564 F.3d 636

John McTERNAN, Appellant v. CITY OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA; Mayor John S. Brenner, in his official capacity; Police Commissioner Mark L. Whitman, in his official capacity; Sergeant Richard Barth, York Police Department, in his official and individual capacities.

No. 07-4437.

No. 07-4438.

No. 07-4439.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued October 23, 2008.

Filed: April 27, 2009.

Dennis E. Boyle, Esq., Randall L. Wenger, Esq., [Argued], Camp Hill, PA, for Appellants, John McTernan; John R. Holman; Edward D. Snell.

Donald B. Hoyt, Esq., Blakey, Yost, Bupp & Rausch, York, PA, Frank J. Lavery, Jr., Esq., James D. Young, Esq., [Argued], Lavery, Faherty, Young & Patterson, Harrisburg, PA, for Appellees, City of York, Pennsylvania; Mayor John S. Brenner, in His Official Capacity; Police Commissioner Mark L. Whitman, in His Official Capacity; and Sergeant Richard Barth.

Before: RENDELL, and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and POLLAK,^* District Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

RENDELL, Circuit Judge.

Appellant John McTernan appeals from the District Court's grant of summary judgment against him and dismissal of his Monell claims for municipal liability in this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. of New York City, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978).

I.

McTernan is a pro-life advocate who regularly speaks to pregnant women as they enter Planned Parenthood of Central Pennsylvania ("Planned Parenthood"), a reproductive health clinic (hereinafter "Clinic") in York, Pennsylvania. His complaint challenges a restriction imposed by police, specifically Sergeant Barth, on his ability to walk in an alley adjacent to the Clinic to speak to clients. Sergeant Barth, a member of the City of York police department, is one of several officers assigned to overtime detail at the Clinic under a contract between Planned Parenthood and the City. McTernan Appendix ("M.A.") 182. To dissuade pregnant women from undergoing an abortion, McTernan emphasizes the sanctity of the fetus, distributes pro-life literature, and discusses alternatives to, and the health risks of, abortion. McTernan's activities emanate from deeply rooted Christian religious beliefs. M.A. 220.

A.

We are presented with two other appeals by protesters with complaints similar to McTernan's (Holman v. City of York, No. 07-4438, 2009 WL 1111095; and Snell v. City of York, No. 07-4439, 2009 WL 1111101). Each of the three appellants (collectively "appellants" or "plaintiffs") sued individually complaining of restrictions on his First Amendment rights of free speech, assembly, and religious expression. Additionally, Snell and Holman have complained that their arrests for activity outside the Clinic violated their Fourth Amendment rights. While certain facts as stated in the three appeals are similar, the claims of each were separately asserted in, and decided by, the District Court. We will therefore treat each case separately, while noting certain similarities.

McTernan's case was filed first, and we will deal herein with the common issues in depth, while the other opinions may incorporate certain principles relied upon herein by reference.

All three complaints contain certain common allegations:

(1) Plaintiffs attempt to dissuade women entering the Clinic from undergoing an abortion;

(2) Deeply rooted Christian beliefs animate plaintiffs' activities at the Clinic;

(3) Encounters between plaintiffs, other protesters, and clients are generally peaceful, and no violent altercations have occurred;

(4) On multiple occasions, officers assigned overtime detail at the Clinic have restricted plaintiffs' access to Rose Alley, a public street adjacent to the Clinic; and

(5) Access restrictions were adopted at Planned Parenthood's behest, and under "color and pretense" of the customs and policies of the City of York.

There was extensive discovery, and the facts as we recount them here are based on deposition testimony. Except where noted to the contrary, the facts are not disputed. These cases are alike in that they paint a picture, aided in part by DVDs submitted by each of the three plaintiffs, very different from most other abortion clinic protest cases. Here, the police focus was not on the disruption caused by protesters, as such; rather, the justification for the restrictions on plaintiffs' activities was grounded in a concern for traffic safety in the alley abutting the Clinic. Police worried that vehicles traveling through the alley would collide with advocates congregating there. The defendants have admitted allegations in plaintiffs' complaints as to the absence of physical confrontations of the sort that frequently accompany anti-abortion proselytizing. There is no claim, and absolutely no evidence presented, that plaintiffs' activities have sparked violence, endangered clients' health, or violated clients' rights to privacy, as in other cases.¹

B.

As the physical layout and setting of the Clinic are crucial to our analysis, we describe both in detail. The Clinic fronts South Beaver Street in York, Pennsylvania. Two roads run perpendicular to South Beaver Street on either side of the Clinic — Hancock Street and Rose Alley. M.A. 180 (map of Clinic environs). Rose Alley is a public street maintained by the City of York. M.A. 166. It is approximately 20 feet wide and is lightly traveled. M.A. 173, 219. A publishing business is located at the far end of the alley, and its employees, and trucks making deliveries, use the alley to access the company's parking lot. M.A. 173. There is no posted speed limit in Rose Alley, nor are there signs restricting the direction of travel or the size of vehicles using the alley. M.A. 133, 245-46. The Clinic owns or leases a front and a rear parking lot, which are used by Clinic employees and clients. M.A. 132, 173, 180. The front lot, which faces South Beaver Street, is adjacent to Rose Alley. M.A. 132, 180. The back lot is situated near the rear entrance of the Clinic farther down the alley. M.A. 132, 173, 180. Both the front and rear entrances of the Clinic feature handicap ramps. M.A. 224.²

Protesters may display signs, distribute literature, and engage patrons on the public sidewalks abutting the front entrance of the Clinic and running between the front parking lot and South Beaver Street. M.A. 132, 183; Holman Appendix ("H.A.") 295; Snell Appendix ("S.A.") 165.

Typically, Planned Parenthood personnel, dressed in white smocks, meet women entering the front lot and escort them across Rose Alley and over the public sidewalk to Planned Parenthood's front entrance. M.A. 219. Other times, clients are dropped off at the rear entrance of the Clinic. Standing at the far end of the alley, McTernan attempts to converse with these women as they enter the Clinic from the rear. M.A. 221.

C.

On June 29, 2005, McTernan and another protester were standing in Rose Alley when a vehicle swerved sharply towards them. Believing that the driver had acted deliberately to intimidate him, McTernan asked Sergeant Barth to charge the driver. Sergeant Barth did not do so. McTernan maintains that Sergeant Barth minimized the significance of the incident. M.A. 175, 274.

Following the incident on June 29, 2005, police restricted access to Rose Alley. On September 28, 2005, Sergeant Barth advised protesters and Planned Parenthood escorts outside the Planned Parenthood facility, including McTernan, that they were prohibited from standing or lingering in, or "walking aimlessly" through, Rose Alley. M.A. 165-66, 183, 220, 224. Citing safety concerns and McTernan's near-collision on June 29, 2005, Sergeant Barth informed members of both camps that they would only be permitted to cross Rose Alley where it intersected with South Beaver Street. M.A. 165-66, 183. There was no vehicular traffic in the alley at the time Sergeant Barth instructed advocates. M.A. 220. Sergeant Barth noted that his instructions were generally obeyed. M.A. 166.

Sergeant Barth also told McTernan that he could walk through the alley but had to do so "legally," in the "correct way," and could not "English-walk." M.A. 220, 224. McTernan requested that Sergeant Barth define these terms but he declined to do so. M.A. 220, 224. McTernan then walked up and down the alley. After doing so, he inquired whether his manner of walking was legal. M.A. 220, 24. Sergeant Barth informed McTernan that it was not and threatened to arrest him if he did so again. M.A. 220, 224. Accordingly, McTernan did not enter Rose Alley again that day, instead using the public sidewalk in front of the Clinic to converse with clients. M.A. 174, 221. After September 28, 2005, McTernan continued his advocacy outside the Clinic but avoided Rose Alley, without further incident. M.A. 174, 221.

D.

McTernan filed suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming violations of his First Amendment rights of free speech, assembly,³ and religious expression. In his complaint, McTernan named as defendants the City of York, Mayor John Brenner and Police Commissioner Mark L. Whitman in their official capacity, and Sergeant Barth, in his individual and official capacities. McTernan sought declaratory relief, temporary and permanent injunctions, and compensatory and punitive damages.

Defendants Brenner, Whitman, the City of York, and Sergeant Barth jointly filed a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Claims against Defendants Brenner, Whitman, and Sergeant Barth in their official capacity were dismissed. M.A. 5 (citing Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985) (noting that "an official-capacity suit is, in all respects other than name, to be treated as a suit against the entity[,]" since "[i]t is not a suit against the official personally, for the real party in interest is the entity.")). Dismissing McTernan's municipal liability claim against the City of York,...