Bressi v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Parole Board

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

AARON J. BRESSI, No. 4:23-CV-00440

Plaintiff, (Chief Judge Brann)

v.

COMMONWEALTH OF

PENNSYLVANIA PAROLE BOARD,

et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

AUGUST 11, 2023

Plaintiff Aaron J. Bressi is a serial pro se litigator who is well known to this

Court. He is currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution, Rockview

(SCI Rockview), in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Bressi filed the instant pro se

Section 19831 action alleging a Fourteenth Amendment violation by the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Parole Board (Parole Board) and other state

officials. Currently pending is Bressi’s amended complaint. Because Bressi once

again fails to state a claim for relief, and because this action is legally frivolous, the

Court will dismiss his amended complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1).

1 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Section 1983 creates a private cause of action to redress constitutional

wrongs committed by state officials. The statute is not a source of substantive rights; it serves

as a mechanism for vindicating rights otherwise protected by federal law. See Gonzaga Univ.

I. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

Courts are statutorily obligated to review, “as soon as practicable,” pro se

prisoner complaints targeting governmental entities, officers, or employees.2 One

basis for dismissal at the screening stage is if the complaint “fails to state a claim

upon which relief may be granted[.]”3 This language closely tracks Federal Rule

of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Accordingly, courts apply the same standard to

screening a pro se prisoner complaint for sufficiency under Section 1915A(b)(1) as

they utilize when resolving a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).4

In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, courts should not inquire

“whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail but whether the claimant is entitled to

offer evidence to support the claims.”5 The court must accept as true the factual

allegations in the complaint and draw all reasonable inferences from them in the

light most favorable to the plaintiff.6 In addition to the facts alleged on the face of

the complaint, the court may also consider “exhibits attached to the complaint,

matters of public record, as well as undisputedly authentic documents” attached to

2 See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a).

3 Id. § 1915A(b)(1).

4 See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103, 109-10 & n.11 (3d Cir. 2002); O’Brien

v. U.S. Fed. Gov’t, 763 F. App’x 157, 159 & n.5 (3d Cir. 2019) (per curiam) (nonprecedential);

cf. Allah v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000).

5 Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974); see Nami v. Fauver, 82 F.3d 63, 66 (3d Cir.

1996).

6 Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 229 (3d Cir. 2008).

a defendant’s motion to dismiss if the plaintiff’s claims are based upon these

documents.7

When the sufficiency of a complaint is challenged, the court must conduct a

three-step inquiry.8 At step one, the court must “tak[e] note of the elements [the]

plaintiff must plead to state a claim.”9 Second, the court should distinguish well-

pleaded factual allegations—which must be taken as true—from mere legal

conclusions, which “are not entitled to the assumption of truth” and may be

disregarded.10 Finally, the court must review the presumed-truthful allegations

“and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.”11

Deciding plausibility is a “context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to

draw on its judicial experience and common sense.”12

Because Bressi proceeds pro se, his pleadings are to be liberally construed

and his amended complaint, “however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less

stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers[.]”13 This is

particularly true when the pro se litigant, like Bressi, is incarcerated.14

7 Mayer v. Belichick, 605 F.3d 223, 230 (3d Cir. 2010) (citing Pension Benefit Guar. Corp.

v. White Consol. Indus., 998 F.2d 1192, 1196 (3d Cir. 1993)).

8 Connelly v. Lane Const. Corp., 809 F.3d 780, 787 (3d Cir. 2016) (internal citations and

quotation marks omitted) (footnote omitted).

9 Id. (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 675 (2009) (alterations in original)).

10 Id. (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679).

11 Id. (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679).

12 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 681.

13 Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (citations omitted).

14 Dooley v. Wetzel, 957 F.3d 366, 374 (3d Cir. 2020) (citation omitted).

II. DISCUSSION

Bressi is currently serving a four- to eight-year sentence for state crimes

including terroristic threats, aggravated assault, simple assault, and driving

infractions.15 This is his second Section 1983 lawsuit in this Court raising a

Fourteenth Amendment challenge after being denied parole.16 In the instant

lawsuit, Bressi asserts that the Parole Board’s denials on May 11 and November

22, 2022, violated his Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process rights.17

Bressi’s amended complaint, like his initial complaint, is largely devoid of

factual allegations. He contends that “[a]ll Defendants violated [his] Fourteenth

Amendment rights[] due to [sic] a state may not deny parole on constitutionally

impermissible grounds, such as race or in retaliation for exercising constitutional

rights.”18 He additionally claims that he is “way past [his] max sentence date[] due

to multiple legal documents tampered with by the state.”19

Bressi names as Defendants the Parole Board, SCI Rockview employee Ms.

Leigey, Parole Board member Linda Rosenberg, and “hearing examiner” Mr.

Gabrnay.20 He seeks compensatory damages and injunctive relief in the form of

15 See Commonwealth v. Bressi, No. 1887 MDA 2017, 2019 WL 1125670, at *1 (Pa. Super. Ct.

Mar. 12, 2019) (nonprecedential).

16 See generally Bressi v. Commonwealth of Pa. Parole Bd., No. 1:21-cv-01265 (M.D. Pa.).

17 See Doc. 26 at 4.

18 Id.

19 Id.

20 Id. at 2-3.

“All Defendants [being] removed from their Government Job titles for life.”21

Bressi’s amended complaint, however, fails to state a claim for relief and therefore

must be dismissed.

A. Substantive Due Process and Parole Determinations

The Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause “contains a substantive

component that bars certain arbitrary, wrongful government actions regardless of

the fairness of the procedures used to implement them.”22 With respect to parole

determinations, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held

that a parole board’s decision can violate an inmate’s substantive due process

rights if it applies “standards that are divorced from the policy and purpose of

parole” or other “impermissible criteria.”23 Specifically, the specter of a

substantive due process violation is raised only when “a parole board considers a

factor that ‘shocks the conscience.’”24 If, however, there is “some basis” for the

parole board’s decision, and that basis is not “constitutionally impermissible” or

conscience-shocking, a substantive due process challenge will fail.25

21 Id. at 5.

22 Newman v. Beard, 617 F.3d 775, 782 (3d Cir. 2010) (quoting Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S.

113, 125 (1990)).

23 See Block v. Potter, 631 F.2d 233, 236 & n.2, 238, 240 (3d Cir. 1980); see also Burkett v. Love,

89 F.3d 135, 139 (3d Cir. 1996) (“In Block, the . . . panel majority concluded that in [using

arbitrary criteria for denying parole], the [Parole Board] violated substantive due process in

grounding its action on constitutionally impermissible reasons.” (internal quotation marks

omitted)).

24 Holmes v. Christie, 14 F.4th 250, 267 (3d Cir. 2021) (quoting Newman, 617 F.3d at 782).

25 See Coady v. Vaughn, 251 F.3d 480, 487 (3d Cir. 2001).

Bressi’s amended complaint does not plausibly state a substantive due

process claim against any Defendant. First, Bressi posits that parole may not be

denied for a constitutionally impermissible reason, “such as race or in retaliation

for exercising constitutional rights.”26 This is an accurate statement of the law as

far as it goes. But Bressi does not actually allege that he was denied parole

because of his race or because he exercised his constitutional rights. Moreover,

even if Bressi intended to make such a claim in his amended complaint, it would

be a mere legal conclusion without any supporting facts and would have to be

disregarded.27

Furthermore, Bressi attached the Parole Board’s May 11 and November 22

decisions to his amended complaint.28 The reasons given for denial of parole

include Bressi’s “risk and needs assessment indicating [his] level of risk to the

community”; his “prior unsatisfactory probation supervision history”; “[r]eports,

evaluations and assessments/level of risk indicat[ing] [his] risk to the community”;

his “minimization/denial of the nature and circumstances of the offense(s)

committed”; his “refusal to accept responsibility for the offense(s) committed”;

and his “lack of remorse for the offense(s) committed.”29 Neither decision by the

26 Doc. 26 at 4.

27 See Connelly, 809 F.3d at 787 (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679).

28 Docs. 26-4, 26-7.

29 See id.

Parole Board was arbitrary or conscience-shocking,30 so there was no substantive

due process violation.

Finally, to the extent that Bressi is attempting to bring some type of claim

concerning being confined past his “max sentence date,” that claim is both

factually undeveloped (i.e., not plausibly alleged) and likely frivolous. Bressi’s

maximum date is September 29, 2024, as noted on both parole denials, which the

Court may consider because they were attached to Bressi’s pleading.31

B. Other Deficiencies

Bressi’s amended complaint contains numerous additional pleading

deficiencies. For example, there is an absence of alleged personal involvement by

the named individual defendants, Leigey, Rosenberg, and Gabrnay.32 Any

individual capacity claims against these defendants must be dismissed because

Bressi has failed to allege how they were involved in the purported Fourteenth

Amendment violation.33

Next, Bressi’s attempt to sue the Parole Board—“an arm of the State”—

under Section 1983 is barred by Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity,

30 See Holmes, 14 F.4th at 267; Newman v. Beard, 617 F.3d 775, 782 (3d Cir. 2010) (holding that

denial of parole based on an inmate’s refusal to admit guilt did not violate his substantive due-

process rights).

31 See Mayer, 605 F.3d at 230.

32 See Rode v. Dellarciprete, 845 F.2d 1195, 1207 (3d Cir. 1988) (citations omitted).

33 See id.; Dooley, 957 F.3d at 374 (citing Rode, 845 F.2d at 1207). This deficiency was explicitly

noted in this Court’s dismissal of Bressi’s original complaint. See Doc. 20 at 6.

regardless of the nature of the relief sought.34 And any official capacity claim

seeking monetary damages against Leigey, Rosenberg, or Gabrnay is barred for the

same reason.35

Moreover, while an official capacity claim seeking prospective injunctive

relief against a state official is not considered to be a claim against the State and

thus not barred by Eleventh Amendment immunity,36 none of Bressi’s allegations

come close to identifying unconstitutional conduct by Leigey, Rosenberg, or

Gabrnay that would pose an immediate danger to Bressi’s constitutional rights.37

Furthermore, the injunctive relief sought by Bressi—to have the three named

Defendants fired—is punitive in nature and does not implicate the type of

prospective injunctive Section 1983 relief meant “to remedy an ongoing violation

of federal law.”38

C. Leave to Amend

Generally, “plaintiffs who file complaints subject to dismissal under [the

Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995] should receive leave to amend unless

amendment would be inequitable or futile.”39 Further leave to amend will be

34 See Haybarger v. Lawrence Cnty. Adult Prob. & Parole, 551 F.3d 193, 198 (3d Cir. 2008);

C.H. ex rel. Z.H. v. Oliva, 226 F.3d 198, 201 (3d Cir. 2000) (en banc); 42 PA. CONS. STAT. §

8521(b) (withholding consent to be sued).

35 See Will v. Mich. Dep’t of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989); J.C. v. Ford, 674 F. App’x

230, 232 (3d Cir. 2016) (nonprecedential).

36 See Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 102 (1984).

37 See Ford, 674 F. App’x at 232 (citing City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 102 (1983)).

38 M.A. ex rel. E.S. v. State-Operated Sch. Dist. of Newark, 344 F.3d 335, 345 (3d Cir. 2003).

39 Grayson, 293 F.3d at 114.

denied because Bressi has failed to cure the numerous deficiencies with his

complaint even after “amendments previously allowed.”40 Moreover, many of

Bressi’s claims are barred by Eleventh Amendment immunity and cannot be

remedied by amendment, so granting leave to amend would be futile.

III. CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, the Court will dismiss with prejudice Bressi’s

amended complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) because it fails to state a

claim upon which relief may be granted and because it is legally frivolous. An

appropriate Order follows.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Matthew W. Brann

Matthew W. Brann

Chief United States District Judge

40 See Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962); Jones v. Unknown D.O.C. Bus Driver &

Transp. Crew, 944 F.3d 478, 483 (3d Cir. 2019) (concluding that, where inmate plaintiff “has

already had two chances to tell his story,” providing “further leave to amend would be futile”).