Aaron J. Bressi v. Northumberland County Court

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 24-1130
__________
AARON J. BRESSI,
Appellant
v.
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COURT; SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA; SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; JUDGE PAIGE
ROSINI; DA ANTHONY MATULEWICZ; ADA ROBYN E. ZENZINGER;
PROTHONOTARY JAMIE SALESKI; MARSHA SCOFF, Esq.;
JOSEPH D. SELETYN, Esq.; JENNIFER TRAXLER, Esq.; CHIEF CLERK
ELIZABETH E. ZISK; AMY DREIBELBIS, Esq.
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil Action No. 4-22-cv-01878)
District Judge: Honorable Malachy E. Mannion
____________________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
August 7, 2024
___________
Before: KRAUSE, MATEY, and CHUNG, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: August 9, 2024)
___________
OPINION*
___________
* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.

-- 1 of 3 --

2
PER CURIAM
Aaron J. Bressi is a Pennsylvania prisoner proceeding pro se. In November 2022,
he commenced this civil-rights action against the Pennsylvania courts presiding over his
post-conviction proceedings. He later added as defendants various judges, attorneys, and
court clerks. He claimed that the defendants had violated his due process rights and
committed “government negligence” by mishandling his pro se filings. The District
Court dismissed the amended complaint on the ground that the defendants were immune
from suit. Bressi appealed.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review over
the district court’s dismissal of this action based on immunity. See Dotzel v. Ashbridge,
438 F.3d 320, 324–25 (3d Cir. 2006).
We will affirm. The District Court correctly concluded that, based on the
allegations in the amended complaint, all twelve defendants were entitled to immunity.
Specifically, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania,
and the Northumberland County Court of Common Pleas are immune from suit under the
Eleventh Amendment, see Benn v. First Jud. Dist. of Pa., 426 F.3d 233, 239–41 (3d Cir.
2005); the Honorable Paige Rosini, a judge of the Northumberland County Court of
Common Pleas, is entitled to judicial immunity for the actions she took in her judicial
capacity, see Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, 356–57 (1978); District Attorney
Anthony Matulewicz and Assistant District Attorney Robyn E. Zenziger are entitled to
absolute prosecutorial immunity for any work “intimately associated with the judicial
phase of the criminal process,” Fogle v. Sokol, 957 F.3d 148, 159–60 (3d Cir. 2020);

-- 2 of 3 --

3
the state-court prothonotaries and deputy prothonotaries are entitled to quasi-judicial
immunity for claims relating to their handling of court filings, see Gallas v. Sup. Ct. of
Pa., 211 F.3d 760, 772 (3d Cir. 2000); and Marsha Skoff, who served as a hearing officer
for the Court of Common Pleas during Bressi’s protection-from-abuse proceedings, is
also entitled to quasi-judicial immunity, see id.
We have considered Bressi’s arguments on appeal and conclude that they are
meritless. Therefore, we will affirm.

-- 3 of 3 --