Gresh v. Columbia County Court of Common Pleas

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA JOSHUA GRESH, Plaintiff, CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:25-cv-2010 v. (SAPORITO, J.) (CARLSON, M.J.) COLUMBIA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Defendant. ORDER Now before the court is a report and recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson in which he recommends that the court dismiss the plaintiff’s petition for writ of habeas corpus and deny the plaintiff’s motion to strike the Commonwealth’s response to the petition. (Doc. 20). As outlined by Judge Carlson, the plaintiff brings forth a petition for writ of habeas corpus concerning a case in state court, , CP-19-CR-0000397-2023, where he insists that the prosecution was illegitimate because the state has “been making legal determinations about my living self without jurisdiction over my living body.” (Doc. 20) (citing (Doc. 1 at 6)). Accordingly, the plaintiff’s petition is based on his asserted sovereign citizen status, stating that the court has “unlawfully detain[ed] my living as surety for this matter without jurisdiction.” ( ) (citing (Doc. 1 at 6)). But Judge Carlson noted that courts have frequently rejected the notion that an asserted sovereign status acts as a bar to prosecution. Therefore, Judge Carlson recommends that the plaintiff’s petition be denied. No timely objections have been filed to the report and recommendation, resulting in the forfeiture of de novo review by this court. , 488 F.3d 187, 194 (3d Cir. 2007); , 812 F.2d 874, 878–79 (3d Cir. 1987). Following an independent review of the report and the record, and having afforded “reasoned consideration” to the uncontested portions of the report, , 866 F.3d 93, 99 (3d Cir. 2017), we are satisfied “that there is no clear error on the face of the record,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) advisory committee note to 1983 amendment. We find Judge Carlson’s analysis to be well-reasoned and fully supported by the record and applicable law. Accordingly, the court will adopt the report and recommendation in its entirety as the decision of the court. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 1. The report and recommendation of Judge Carlson (Doc. 20) is ADOPTED in its entirety; 2. The plaintiff’s motion for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) and motion to strike (Doc. 18) are DENIED; and 3. The Clerk of Court shall close this case. Dated: September 11, 2026 JOSEPH F. SAPORITO, JR. United States District Judge