Whether the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment is violated when the enforcement of procedural deadlines takes priority over the merit of cases of personal injury which occurred at a state institution.

Whether the Due Process and Equal Protection Clause permits a state court to apply procedural rules asymmetrically by excusing untimely conduct by government defendants while imposing the harshest possible sanction on an unrepresented litigant for non-culpable delay.

Whether the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment is violated when procedural deadlines take priority over merits of personal injury cases at state institutions, and whether procedural rules can be applied asymmetrically by state courts