Teresa J. James
How Judge James decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
James polices subject-matter jurisdiction at the threshold and will recommend sua sponte dismissal under Rule 12(h)(3) where it is lacking. For diversity she requires complete diversity and amount in controversy over $75,000; parties who are all citizens of the same state (here all Kansas) defeats it. For federal-question jurisdiction the federal question must appear on the face of a well-pleaded complaint; checking a civil-rights box without citing any actual federal right does not create one, and claims sounding in state-law negligence/malpractice belong in state court.
“Because Plaintiff and Defendants are citizens of the same state (Kansas), diversity of citizenship therefore cannot be the basis of subject-matter jurisdiction for this action. ... the undersigned U.S. Magistrate Judge recommends that Plaintiff's complaint and this case be DISMISSED pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.”
On 1915(e) screening of a pro se complaint, James liberally construes the pleading but holds the plaintiff to the burden of alleging sufficient facts for a recognized legal claim; she will not act as the litigant's advocate. A claim brought only against a private citizen (e.g. an ex-spouse), absent action under color of state law, cannot support federal jurisdiction.
“plaintiff's claims are against her former husband, a private citizen, and thus this Court cannot exercise federal jurisdiction over this lawsuit.”
Procedural preferences
James front-loads jurisdictional screening: where a complaint's jurisdictional basis looks deficient she issues an Order to Show Cause (and withholds service) before allowing the case to proceed to scheduling, and she resumes scheduling only once the pleadings demonstrate jurisdiction. Her R&Rs carry the standard 14-day written-objection admonition (28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)).
“The pleadings now demonstrate diversity jurisdiction is satisfied, and with the permission of District Judge Vratil the undersigned will proceed with scheduling the case.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motion for leave to proceed ifp N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
Her OWN signed R&R recommending sua sponte dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The pro se plaintiff (whose IFP motion had already been granted) sued a Kansas hospital and nurse for medical malpractice/'attempted murder'/neglect; James found no diversity (plaintiff and both defendants Kansas citizens) and no federal question (the complaint cited no constitutional/statutory right and the claims sound in state-law negligence). Rules on no party motion; excluded from motion stats.
“On April 12, 2018, Magistrate Judge Teresa J. James entered a Report and Recommendation that this Court deny Plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) ... The Court adopts the Report and Recommendation filed April 12, 2018 (Doc. 4). Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 3) is denied.”
District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree's Memorandum & Order (read in full) ACCEPTING, ADOPTING, and AFFIRMING James's R&R (her Doc. 5, 2024-05-23) recommending dismissal of a pro se complaint without prejudice for failure to state a claim. No objection was filed. Screening dismissal rules on no party motion; excluded from motion stats. Signer is Crabtree (signer_confirmed false); recorded as James's recommendation adopted.
District Judge Crabtree's Memorandum & Order (read in full) ACCEPTING, ADOPTING, and AFFIRMING James's R&R (her Doc. 8) that reviewed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B) and recommended dismissal for failure to state a claim (plaintiff alleged insufficient facts to support a cognizable claim against the named defendants). No objection filed. Screening dismissal rules on no party motion; excluded from motion stats. Signer is Crabtree (signer_confirmed false); recorded as James's recommendation adopted.
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 457 days (N = 1).
Not systematically enumerated. docket shows James as the assigned magistrate on consent civil cases (Thrush v. CNH Industrial America, a tort/product-liability case before District Judge Vratil with James handling pretrial) and on criminal magistrate (mj) matters, plus many 636(b) civil referrals. The Thrush case analyzed below is a counseled diversity product-liability suit.