Peter DiPietro v.
Peter DiPietro v.
Opinion
ALD-115 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________
No. 23-1183 ___________
IN RE: PETER DIPIETRO, Petitioner ____________________________________
On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
____________________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R. App. P. March 30, 2023
Before: HARDIMAN, RESTREPO, and BIBAS, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: May 26, 2023) _________
OPINION * _________
PER CURIAM
Pro se petitioner Peter DiPietro seeks a writ of mandamus. Because DiPietro has
not demonstrated that he is entitled to such relief, we will deny his petition.
DiPietro’s mandamus petition appears to seek this Court’s assistance with a state
court criminal matter. He has attached a motion that he filed in that case, as well as a
* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. decision denying his motion. He appears to request an “accounting” and “subrogation
from [an] implied trust to [an] expressed trust.” See Mandamus Pet. at 1. DiPietro takes
issue with “repudiation/dishonor” by a state court judge. Id. DiPietro has also attached
filings from a state court eviction proceeding involving a cottage in a recreational resort
community. DiPietro does not identify any pending federal action in his petition.
A writ of mandamus is a “drastic remedy” that may be granted “only in
extraordinary circumstances in response to an act amounting to a judicial usurpation of
power.” In re Diet Drugs Prods. Liab. Litig.,
418 F.3d 372, 378 (3d Cir. 2005) (citation
omitted). Although DiPietro’s requests are difficult to decipher, to the extent that he
seeks this Court’s intervention in a pending or completed state court action, we lack
authority to grant such relief. See In re Richards,
213 F.3d 773, 781(3d Cir. 2000) (“[I]n
the ordinary course of events, federal courts (except for the Supreme Court) lack
appellate jurisdiction over their state counterparts, thus making writs of mandamus
generally inappropriate.”); White v. Ward,
145 F.3d 1139, 1140(10th Cir. 1998) (per
curiam) (explaining that a federal court “lack[s] jurisdiction to direct a state court to
perform its duty”). We also generally do not interfere with state criminal prosecutions.
See Younger v. Harris,
401 U.S. 37, 45(1971). Accordingly, because DiPietro has not
shown a clear and indisputable right to mandamus relief, and that no other means exist to
attain the relief he desires, we will deny his petition. See Hollingsworth v. Perry,
558 U.S. 183, 190(2010) (per curiam).
2
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished