Johnson v. Chicago Bd. of Education

Dist. Ct. erred in dismissing plaintiff’s employment-discrimination case as sanction for her failure to appear at scheduled status hearing. While plaintiff was warned in prior order that had granted her motion to proceed in forma pauperis that her failure to appear at said hearing could result in lawsuit’s dismissal, instant failure to appear was sole misstep committed by plaintiff, and Dist. Ct. had failed to consider possibility of lesser sanction.