The U.S. Supreme Court on June 9 eased the burden on victims of employment discrimination. Desert Palace Inc. v. Costa, No. 02-679.

Ms. Costa, a forklift operator at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, was fired after an altercation with a coworker. She brought a Title VII civil rights action alleging gender discrimination was a motivation for her firing and won a jury verdict. The Ninth Circuit, en banc, rejected defendant’s argument that in such “mixed motive” cases the plaintiff is obliged to establish discrimination by direct evidence.

A unanimous Supreme Court upheld the Ninth Circuit. Justice Clarence Thomas found no basis in the text of the statute to depart from the general rule of civil litigation that a plaintiff must prove his or her case by a preponderance of the evidence using direct or circumstantial evidence.

AAJ filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the plaintiff, authored by AAJ member Jeffrey L. Needle.

AAJ's Amicus Curiae Brief: Desert Palace v. Costa