In a striking legal confrontation, a Chicago resident has filed a lawsuit alleging significant violations of her constitutional rights. Diahann Grasty initiated the complaint on November 13, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against multiple defendants including several judges and law firms.
The lawsuit accuses Judge Martin Agran, Judge Sanjay T. Taylor, Judge Michael B. Hyman, Judge Carl A. Walker, attorney James P Pieczonka, and Sanford & Kahn Law Firm LLP of engaging in fraudulent activities that led to her unlawful eviction and property loss. Grasty claims these actions violated her First, Fifth, Seventh, and Fourteenth Amendment rights as well as federal statutes such as 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. The complaint details how these defendants allegedly denied her right to a jury trial by falsely citing “lack of jurisdiction” as a pretext to dismiss valid filings.
Grasty’s narrative is one of alleged judicial misconduct and conspiracy to obstruct justice. She asserts that despite timely filings in compliance with legal procedures like Fed. R. Civ. P. 38 for jury demands, she was unlawfully evicted from her property with personal belongings discarded and her vehicle wrongfully towed under fraudulent judgments entered under an unknown name. These actions reportedly damaged her credit and reputation severely.
The plaintiff contends that these judicial actors acted maliciously in concert to deny her access to fair judicial remedies—a claim supported by references to specific statutes such as Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(d)(3) regarding fraud upon the court and 42 U.S.C § 1985 concerning conspiracy to interfere with civil rights.
Grasty seeks substantial relief from the court: $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages for economic losses, emotional distress, humiliation, mental anguish caused by these alleged injustices; injunctive relief including restoration of property; voiding all fraudulent judgments; investigation into judicial misconduct; sanctions against involved parties; and attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C § 1988.
Representing herself pro se, Grasty emphasizes the denial of due process through repeated refusals for a jury trial which she argues is protected under the Seventh Amendment—allegations she substantiates with claims about procedural misapplications leading up through appellate proceedings where cases were prematurely closed without proper review.
The case is presided over by Judge Georgia N. Alexakis with Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz assisting on this matter (Case ID: 1:25-cv-14776). The legal battle ahead promises intense scrutiny on procedural integrity within Illinois’ judiciary system while challenging established norms around civil rights protections during litigation processes.
Source: 125cv14776_Diahann_Grasty_v_United_States_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Illinois.pdf
