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Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 

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In the 

United States Court of Appeals 

For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ 

No. 19-1365 

JEREMY LOWREY, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v.

ANDREW TILDEN and WEXFORD

HEALTH SOURCES, INC., 

Defendants-Appellees. 

____________________ 

Appeal from the United States District Court for the 

Central District of Illinois. 

No. 16-cv-1170 — Jonathan E. Hawley, Magistrate Judge. 

____________________ 

No. 19-3145 

SCOTT MCCRAY, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v.

ROBERT WILKIE, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

Defendant-Appellee. 

____________________ 

Case: 19-3145 Document: 13 Filed: 02/03/2020 Pages: 4
2 Nos. 19-1365 & 19-3145 

Appeal from the United States District Court for the 

Eastern District of Wisconsin. 

No. 18-cv-1637 — David E. Jones, Magistrate Judge. 

____________________ 

SUBMITTED DECEMBER 12 & 9, 2019 —

DECIDED FEBRUARY 3, 2020 

____________________ 

Before WOOD, Chief Judge, in chambers. 

WOOD, Chief Judge. This court takes jurisdictional issues seriously—indeed, it is proud to have a reputation as a jurisdictional hawk. As part of our routine procedure, we screen all 

briefs filed before oral argument or submission on the briefs 

to ensure that our jurisdiction is secure and to catch any potential problems. Many such problems can easily be corrected, 

and when they are, the judges of the court can proceed in confidence to decide the case. 

Our routine jurisdictional screening sometimes reveals recurrent problems that would benefit from a published opinion. A few years ago, I addressed such an issue, when in BaezSanchez v. Sessions, 826 F.3d 638 (7th Cir. 2017) (Wood, C.J., in 

chambers), I reminded attorneys practicing before this court 

that we rely on accurate jurisdictional statements. In BaezSanchez, the problem was the failure on the part of many appellees to specify precisely whether, in counsel’s view, the appellant’s jurisdictional statement was complete and correct. I 

emphasized that these are different requirements, and that 

this is not the place for creative writing. Either the jurisdictional statement is both complete and correct, or appellee 

must furnish a comprehensive jurisdictional statement of its 

own. 

Case: 19-3145 Document: 13 Filed: 02/03/2020 Pages: 4
Nos. 19-1365 & 19-3145 3

Another recurring problem justifies the same approach. In 

the two cases I have consolidated only for purposes of this 

opinion, a magistrate judge issued the final judgment from 

which the appeal has been taken. Circuit Rule 28(a)(2)(v) requires an appellant in such a case to include in its jurisdictional statement not only information about the magistrate 

judge’s involvement, but also “the dates on which each party 

consented in writing to the entry of final judgment by the 

magistrate judge.” See also 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). 

The information provided in each of these appeals fell 

short of the requirements of Circuit Rule 28. In Lowrey v. Tilden, No. 19-1365, the appellees informed the court in their jurisdictional statement that the parties had consented to have 

a magistrate judge hear the case; they did so after observing 

that the pro se appellant’s jurisdictional statement was not 

complete and correct and appropriately moving on to provide 

their own complete jurisdictional summary. See Circuit Rule 

28(b). But counsel failed to provide the dates of consent of 

each party to the magistrate judge’s jurisdiction. In McCray v. 

Wilkie, No. 19-3145, counsel not only failed to provide the 

dates of consent, but he also neglected to mention that the decision from which the appeal was being taken had been rendered by a magistrate judge. 

The significance of the information about the magistrate 

judge’s involvement and the consent of all parties to that 

judge’s resolution of the merits cannot be overstated. See Coleman v. Labor & Indus. Rev. Comm’n of the State of Wis., 860 F.3d 

461 (7th Cir. 2017) (a magistrate judge has no authority to issue a final decision that is directly appealable to the court of 

appeals unless all parties consent). 

Case: 19-3145 Document: 13 Filed: 02/03/2020 Pages: 4
4 Nos. 19-1365 & 19-3145 

This rule is not a secret. It is clearly spelled out in Circuit 

Rule 28(a)(2)(v), and this court’s Practitioner’s Handbook for Appeals (2019 ed.) is readily available on the court’s public website, as the second item under the tab “Rules and Procedures.” 

See http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/rules-procedures//Handbook.pdf. The Handbook explicitly refers to the failure to provide dates of consent to proceed before a magistrate judge as 

one of the recurring problems that the court encounters when 

performing jurisdictional screening. See Handbook at 145. 

We once again encourage counsel to consult the Handbook. 

It is a useful guide, regularly updated by the court and its 

staff, for both experienced and novice practitioners. It can 

help counsel avoid the common pitfalls in drafting a jurisdictional statement. See Handbook at 142–45. We expect attorneys 

who practice before this court to give close attention to all of 

the rules, including Circuit Rule 28. I hope that this reminder 

will serve its intended purpose and that such readily avoided 

flaws will cease. 

In each of these cases, counsel shall have seven days in 

which to file an amended jurisdictional statement that complies in all respect with the rules. 

So ordered.

Case: 19-3145 Document: 13 Filed: 02/03/2020 Pages: 4