Turpin v. Koropchak

EVANS, Circuit Judge.

The issue in this case is jurisdiction. Christi Turpin, a former graduate student of Southern Illinois University (SIU), sued two deans and a professor in federal court after they failed to acknowledge that she earned her doctorate. Despite the fact that she sued the defendants in their individual capacities, the district court held that SIU, and therefore the State of Illinois, was the real party in interest. The upshot? The case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because suits against the State are the exclusive province of the Illinois Court of Claims. Turpin…