Opinion ID: 393062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissibility of the EEOC Determination

Text: 8 Plummer sought admission of the EEOC reasonable cause determination as evidence of discrimination, relying on Bradshaw v. Zoological Society of San Diego, 569 F.2d 1066 (9th Cir. 1978). The district court sustained Western's objection to the admission of the determination. In Bradshaw, we held that it is reversible error for a trial court to strike an EEOC determination from a Title VII complaint, stating: 9 In our judgment the Commission's Determination of Probable Cause was admissible evidence in a trial de novo on appellant's claim. This being so, there was little occasion to strike it from the complaint. The court's remark in granting the motion to strike to the effect that it was to be given no weight in this court's determination of the case was error. It remains with the district court, of course, to determine the degree of weight to be assigned to this evidence. 10 Id. at 1069. We recognized that a civil rights plaintiff has the right to a de novo trial in federal court, and while prior administrative determinations are not binding, they are admissible evidence. Id.; Chandler v. Roudebush, 425 U.S. 840, 863, 96 S.Ct. 1949, 1960, 48 L.Ed.2d 416 (1976). See Clark v. Chasen, 619 F.2d 1330, 1337 (9th Cir. 1980) (administrative record compiled prior to trial is admissible evidence). 11 In Bradshaw we relied on the first case to address this issue, Smith v. Universal Services, Inc., 454 F.2d 154, 156-58 (5th Cir. 1972). 5 The Smith court reversed the trial court's exclusion of an EEOC report and determination, because it would be a waste of EEOC manpower to exclude the highly probative report. The appellate court found that merely because the report was harmful to the defendant, it was not prejudicial. Id. at 157. See Blizard v. Fielding, 572 F.2d 13, 16 (1st Cir. 1978) (EEOC findings are entitled to great deference by district court, but failure to make reference to findings in court opinion is not reversible error). 12 Western makes the novel argument that Bradshaw should not apply in this case because Title VII and section 1981 claims were joined, and the case was tried to a jury. 6 In such a case, Western contends that the trial court should have discretion to exclude an EEOC determination because there is a danger that the jury might be confused. Presumably, in a bench trial the judge is capable of giving the determination appropriate weight. See Bradshaw, 569 F.2d at 1069. If the jury had been allowed to consider the EEOC determination, which was prepared pursuant to Title VII, 7 Western argues that the jury would have given the determination too much weight in evaluating the section 1981 cause of action. 13 The cases applying the per se rule of admissibility did not involve jury trials. Bradshaw, 569 F.2d at 1069; Smith, 454 F.2d at 156-57. In Bradshaw, however, the plaintiff brought suit under both Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 569 F.2d at 1067. Therefore the plaintiff may have requested a jury trial on remand. The court did not foreclose the possibility of jury consideration of the EEOC determination. 14 An EEOC determination, prepared by professional investigators on behalf of an impartial agency, has been held to be a highly probative evaluation of an individual's discrimination complaint. See Bradshaw, id.; Peters v. Jefferson Chemical Co., 516 F.2d 447, 450-51 (5th Cir. 1975); Smith, 454 F.2d at 157. But see Cox v. Babcock & Wilcox Co., 471 F.2d 13, 15 (4th Cir. 1972); Smith, 454 F.2d at 160-61 (Dyer, J., dissenting from denial of en banc rehearing). If we were to adopt the distinction between jury and non-jury trials urged by Western, in many cases Bradshaw could in effect be ignored and the value of EEOC determinations wasted. The factual background in a Title VII lawsuit based on racial discrimination will often support a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 as well. See Johnson v. Railway Express Agency Inc., 421 U.S. 454, 457-61, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1717-20, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975) (discussing the overlap between Title VII and section 1981). We believe that Bradshaw should apply to such cases even when the plaintiff requests a jury trial. See note 6 supra. 15 Admittedly, there is support for the general proposition that the admissibility of evidence varies between jury and non-jury trials. The admission of improper evidence before a jury is grounds for reversal if a party's substantial rights are affected. Fed.R.Evid. 103(a); Tipton v. Socony Mobil Oil Co., 375 U.S. 34, 36, 84 S.Ct. 1, 2, 11 L.Ed.2d 4 (1963). In a judge-tried trial, however, the admission of incompetent evidence over objection will not ordinarily be a ground of reversal if there was competent evidence received sufficient to support the findings. The judge will be presumed to have disregarded the inadmissible and relied on the competent evidence. E. Cleary, McCormick on Evidence § 60, at 137 (2d ed. 1972) (footnote omitted). 16 Rule 103(c) of the Federal Rules of Evidence admonishes against inadmissible evidence being suggested to the jury by any means. Here, however, we are dealing with evidence that is not only admissible, but has been held to be highly probative. There is therefore no more reason to keep the matter from a jury's consideration than from a judge's. 17 A civil rights plaintiff has a difficult burden of proof, 8 and should not be deprived of what may be persuasive evidence. 9 We therefore hold that the plaintiff has a right to introduce an EEOC probable cause determination in a Title VII lawsuit, regardless of what other claims are asserted, or whether the case is tried before a judge or jury. The district court erred in excluding the EEOC determination, and we reverse and remand. 18