Todd Wesley Pensyl v. Mathew Hale, Warden Blair County Prison, et al.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA TODD WESLEY PENSYL ) ) Civil Action No. 3:26-cv-45 Petitioner, ) District Judge Nora Barry Fischer ) Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto v. ) ) MATHEW HALE, Warden Blair ) County Prison, et al. ) ) Respondents. ) ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 20th day of February 2026, upon consideration of the Report and Recommendation filed by United States Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto on January 22, 2026, (Docket No. 2), recommending that Petitioner’s Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction without prejudice to filing a civil rights complaint, and further recommending that no certificate of appealability should issue, objections having been filed and the Petition refiled (Docket No. 7) after the Magistrate Judge granted Petitioner’s Motion to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (Docket No. 6), and upon independent review of the record and de novo consideration of the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (Docket No. 2), which is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Objections [5] are OVERRULED, for the reasons set forth in the Report and Recommendation. To that end, Plaintiff’s objections relate to the conditions of his confinement which must be brought in a civil complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Leamer v. Fauver, 288 F.3d 532, 543 (3d Cir. 2002); Richardson v. Thompson, Civil Action No. 13-1466, 2014 WL 65995, at *1 (W.D. Pa. Jan. 8, 2014) (adopting Report and Recommendation).

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner’s Habeas Petition [1, 7] is DISMISSED, without prejudice to filing a civil rights complaint; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no certificate of appealability shall issue as the claims here are not appropriate for habeas relief and as such, the Court is without jurisdiction to issue a certificate of appealability; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mark this case CLOSED; and, FINALLY, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Rule 4(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Plaintiff has thirty (30) days to file a notice of appeal as provided by Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

s/ Nora Barry Fischer Nora Barry Fischer Senior U.S. District Judge cc/ecf: United States Magistrate Keith Pesto Todd Wesley Pensyl 940090 Blair County Prison Market Square Alley Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 (by U.S. mail) IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Habeas Petition [1] is DISMISSED, without prejudice to filing a civil rights complaint; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mark this case CLOSED; and, FINALLY, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Rule 4(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Plaintiff has thirty (30) days to file a notice of appeal as provided by Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

s/ Nora Barry Fischer Nora Barry Fischer Senior U.S. District Judge cc/ecf: United States Magistrate Keith Pesto Todd Wesley Pensyl 940090 Blair County Prison Market Square Alley Hollidaysburg, PA 16648