No. 24-7464

Shukeitha Jackson v. AbbVie, Inc.

Lower Court: Seventh Circuit
Docketed: 2025-06-18
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: appointed-counsel civil-rights due-process mental-illness pro-se-litigant title-vii
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity DueProcess EmploymentDiscrimina
Latest Conference: 2025-09-29
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a pro se litigant with documented severe mental illness is entitled to appointed counsel in a civil rights employment matter under Title VII when their disability hinders their ability to represent themselves

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

I. Whether a pro se litigant with documented severe mental illness is entitled to appointed counsel in a civil rights employment matter under Title VII when their disability hinders their ability to represent themselves. II. Whether a federal court may lawfully dismiss a subsequent Title VII claim based on a second EEOC right-to-sue letter involving different retaliatory acts, by treating it as duplicative of a prior charge without allowing the plaintiff to clarify distinctions or amend the pleadings. III. Whether equitable tolling should apply when a disabled plaintiff continued to engage in the administrative process in good faith, misunderstood deadlines due to mental illness, and was not permitted to amend or clarify her claims before dismissal with prejudice. IV. Whether a district court abuses its discretion and denies meaningful access to justice under the Due Process Clause and 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) when it refuses to appoint counsel for a mentally ill, indigent pro se plaintiff pursuing a Title VII civil rights claim, where the complexity of the case and the plaintiffs condition render self-representation impossible. 3

Docket Entries

2025-10-06
The motion of petitioner for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is denied. Petitioner is allowed until October 27, 2025, within which to pay the docketing fee required by Rule 38(a) and to submit a petition in compliance with Rule 33.1 of the Rules of this Court. Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this motion.
2025-07-24
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
2025-07-15
Waiver of right of respondent AbbVie, Inc. to respond filed.
2025-06-07
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due July 18, 2025)

Attorneys

AbbVie, Inc.
Jon E. KlinghofferGoldberg Kohn, Ltd., Respondent
Jon E. KlinghofferGoldberg Kohn, Ltd., Respondent
Shukeitha Jackson
Shukeitha Jackson — Petitioner
Shukeitha Jackson — Petitioner