Opinion ID: 785476
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Direct Proof Contention

Text: 22 Plaintiff attempts to side-step the lack of circumstantial evidence to support her cause of action by insisting she offered direct evidence of retaliation, and therefore escaped the requirement of proving her case by circumstantial evidence. She cites Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U.S. 111, 121, 105 S.Ct. 613, 83 L.Ed.2d 523 (1985), for the proposition that a plaintiff who is challenging an employer's policy need not show circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination when the plaintiff presents direct evidence of discrimination. Although Trans World Airlines involved a claim under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. (2000), we realize that its holding is equally applicable to Title VII claims. See Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 122 S.Ct. 992, 997, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002). But plaintiff's direct evidence was quite different from the type of direct evidence discussed in Trans World Airlines. 23 Trans World Airlines dealt with a facially discriminatory policy. In the instant case, plaintiff has introduced written statements by various Agency employees who investigated plaintiff's complaints as employees of the in-house EEO and concluded that plaintiff's supervisor had retaliated against her. Appellant characterizes these as defendant's admissions. While it is true that the statements were admissions for hearsay purposes, that is, they were made by defendant's agents and therefore fell outside of the hearsay rule, see Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2), that does not make them direct evidence of retaliation. In fact, these co-employees' statements are simply their opinions, and they are themselves based on circumstantial evidence. These statements are obviously not binding pleadings or admissions to be used against defendant under Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to establish a matter conclusively, nor are they admissions by Milioti with respect to his actual motives. 24 In sum, the district court did not err in denying plaintiff's motion for judgment as a matter of law because plaintiff failed to make out a circumstantial case or to offer direct evidence of discrimination or retaliation. II New Trial Motion 25 Plaintiff next declares that even if she is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law, she is at least entitled to a new trial for a number of reasons. The first is that the trial judge allowed defendant's counsel to lead non-hostile witnesses on different occasions. In making this assertion appellant overlooks the fact that the language of Federal Rule of Evidence 611(c) expressing a preference for non-leading questions is only precatory and, that generally trial judges are afforded a large degree of discretion in overseeing the examination of witnesses. See United States v. DeFiore, 720 F.2d 757, 764 (2d Cir.1983); Fed.R.Evid. 611 advisory committee's note (1972); 4 Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 611.06[1] (2d ed.1999). In any event, the leading questions in this case can hardly be said to have been prejudicial. 26 Sanders' second challenge to the denial of her motion for a new trial is that the district judge erroneously excluded from evidence the statement of an Agency employee who wrote that the actions of plaintiff's supervisor were retaliatory and prohibited by law. We agree with the district judge that this statement was a legal conclusion concerning one of the ultimate issues to be decided by the jury. See Sanders, 218 F.Supp.2d at 541. We find no error, therefore, in the trial court's decision to exclude the statement under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 because its potential for unfair prejudice or confusion substantially outweighed its probative value. 27 Appellant's third attack on the denial of her motion presents the only potentially solid ground that plaintiff offers for a new trial. Sanders maintains that the trial judge gave improper instructions to the jury. We review jury instructions de novo, and will grant a new trial if we find an error that is not harmless. Gordon v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 232 F.3d 111, 115-16 (2d Cir.2000). An error is harmless only when we are persuaded it did not influence the jury's verdict. Id. An instruction that improperly instructs the jury on whether the plaintiff has satisfied her burden of proof is generally not harmless because it strikes directly at a plaintiff's claim. See id. 28 While we think a number of the criticisms appellant levels at the jury instructions are without substance, she correctly points out that the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting scheme should not have been charged to the jury. In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), the Supreme Court held that once a Title VII plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of unlawful conduct, the burden shifts to the employer to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the conduct. If the employer meets this burden, then the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to show that this stated reason was in fact pretext, and to establish a case of forbidden discrimination. Id. at 804, 93 S.Ct. 1817. As we have previously stressed, this burden-shifting scheme is a blueprint to guide a district court in the conduct of a trial. See Gordon, 232 F.3d at 118. Explaining it to the jury in the charge, we believe, is more likely to confuse rather than enlighten the members of the jury. Id. 29 Making the burden-shifting scheme of McDonnell Douglas part of a jury charge undoubtedly constitutes error because of the manifest risk of confusion it creates. Having said that, however, such a charge does not necessarily constitute grounds for a new trial. See Sharkey v. Lasmo (AUL Ltd.), 214 F.3d 371, 374 (2d Cir.2000). Instead, we must look at the particular facts and circumstances of each case to determine whether the standard for harmlessness is met. 30 In the case at bar, the district court clearly explained to the jury that while the burden of proof may shift according to the McDonnell Douglas framework, ultimately the question you must decide is whether the plaintiff has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant discriminated against, disparately treated, or retaliated against the plaintiff. Moreover, the jury plainly reached a reasonable conclusion when it answered this question in the negative. Indeed, we find it hard to imagine how the jury could have come to any other conclusion given the dearth of proof supporting essential elements of appellant's cause of action. Consequently, we are not persuaded that the erroneous and superfluous jury McDonnell Douglas instruction influenced the jury's verdict. The error was accordingly harmless, and does not necessitate a new trial.