Dismissal before discovery

1. Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment permits a federal court to dismiss a civil action with prejudice at the pleading stage, under the circumstances presented here, after denying requests for discovery and other procedures the plaintiff sought to develop the factual basis of her claims. 2. Whether, after a plaintiff sought voluntary dismissal following the filing of responsive pleadings, the district court’s denial of voluntary dismissal and entry, in the same order, of a dismissal with prejudice — considered together with the preceding denial of discovery and compulsory process — provided the procedural protections required before the plaintiff’s claims were permanently extinguished. 3. Whether the combined procedural rulings in this case — including the denial of discovery, the treatment of Petitioner’s Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, and the dismissal with prejudice — present an important federal question concerning the procedural protections required before civil claims are permanently extinguished.