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Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa April 21, 2003 (02-679) return to case listing Case Summary Respondent worked as a forklift operator for Petitioner until she was terminated in 1994. While Petitioner claimed that her termination was based upon Respondent's fight with a co-worker, Respondent brought suit and claimed gender discrimination in violation of Title VII. During the trial in Federal District Court, the court gave the jurors a "mixed motive" instruction that told them to find for Respondent if they believed that sex was a motivating factor in Petitioner's treatment. The trial court found in favor of Respondent and awarded her back pay, compensatory and punitive damages. A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and held that the mixed motive instruction prejudiced Petitioner by shifting the burden of proof to the employer. Sitting en banc, however, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that even though Respondent did not have direct evidence of sex discrimination, there was enough evidence to prove that sex was a motivating factor in Respondent's job termination. The opinion of the Ninth Circuit is found at 299 F.3d 838. To see the opinion of the lower court, click here. PREDICTED OUTCOME ACTUAL OUTCOME Forecasting Model Expert One Expert Two Expert Three 8-1 to Reverse 7-2 to Affirm n/a n/a 9-0 to Affirm VOTING TO REVERSE Rehnquist O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer O'Connor Thomas VOTING TO AFFIRM Stevens Rehnquist Stevens Scalia Kennedy Souter Ginsburg Breyer Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer return to case listing