AGE DISCRIMINATION

�  THE FLORIDA BAR JOURNAL/MAY 2010

B o a r d o f G o v e r n o r s

e d i t o r i a l B o a r d

President Jesse H. Diner President-elect

Mayanne Downs executive director

John F. Harkness, Jr.

Chair Jennifer A. Winegardner, Tallahassee; Vice Chair Kristi L. Bergemann, West Palm Beach; Vice Chair David J. Federbush, Bethesda, MD; Lionel Barnet, Miami; Yelizaveta A. Batres, West Palm Beach; Tyrina D. Blomer, Houston, TX; Catherine B. Chapman, Tallahassee; Carrol Y. Cherry, Tallahassee; Daniel S. Dearing, Tallahassee; Amy C. Duffey, Tampa; Courtney D. Durham, Inverness; H. Scott Fingerhut, Miami; Gary S. Gaffney, Delray Beach; Betsy E. Gallagher, Tampa; Michael M. Giel, Jacksonville; Ivy R. Ginsberg, Aventura; Juan C. Gomez, Miami; Stanley G. Gorsica, Tallahassee; Michael G. Haire, Jr., Tallahassee; Cynthia L. Hall, Key West; Beverly L. Hayes, Tallahassee; Richard S. Junnier, Tallahassee; David M. Lewis, Gainesville; Christopher S. Linde, Orlando; R. Lynn Lovejoy, Pensacola; M. Leigh Macdonald, Leesburg, VA; Diana L. Martin, Palm Beach Gardens; Christina C. McAdams, Lakeland; Donald A. Mihokovich, Tampa; Elena R. Minicucci, Ft. Lauderdale; Lori L. Moore, Ft. Myers; Manuel Pérez- Leiva, Miami Beach; Sue-Ann N. Robinson, Ft. Lauderdale; Sorraya M. Solages, Coral Gables; Michael D. Starks, Orlando; Joshua J. Wagner, Daytona Beach; R. Craig Waters, Tallahassee; Diana Widjaya, Miami; Margaret E. Wood, West Palm Beach; Board Liaison: Charles Chobee Ebbets, Daytona Beach

first circuit Stephen H. Echsner; second circuit Lawrence E. Sellers, Jr., Dominic M. Caparello; third circuit Clay A. Schnitker; fourth circuit S. Grier Wells, John J. Schickel; fifth circuit Denise A. Lyn; sixth circuit An- drew B. Sasso, Murray B. Silverstein; seventh circuit Charles C. Ebbets; eiGhth circuit Carl B. Schwait; ninth circuit Mary Ann Morgan, Daniel L. DeCubellis, Scott R. McMillen; tenth circuit Robert M. Brush; eleventh circuit Ramon A. Abadin, David B. Rothman, Ervin A. Gonzalez, Michael J. Higer, Den- nis G. Kainen, Juliet M. Roulhac, John H. Hickey, Dori Foster-Morales; twelfth circuit; L. Norman Vaughan-Birch; thirteenth circuit William J. Schifino, Jr., Lansing C. Scriven, Gwynne A. Young; fourteenth circuit Clif- ford W. Sanborn; fifteenth circuit David C. Prather, Gregory W. Coleman, Scott G. Hawkins, Lisa S. Small; sixteenth circuit Edwin A. Scales; seventeenth circuit Walter Gordon Campbell, Jr., Nancy W. Gregoire, Eugene K. Pettis, Jay Cohen, Timothy L. Bailey; eiGhteenth circuit Clifton A. McClelland, Jr.; nineteenth circuit John M. Stewart; twentieth circuit Laird A. Lile, Scott W. Weinstein; out-of-state Richard A. Tanner, Ian M. Comisky, Eric L. Meeks, Brian D. Burgoon; President Yld R.J. Haughey II; President-elect Yld Renée Thompson; PuBlic MeMBers, Arnell Bryant-Willis, Alvin V. Alsobrook

oath of adMission to the florida Bar The general principles which should ever control the lawyer in the practice of the legal profession are clearly set forth in the following oath of admission to the Bar, which the lawyer is sworn on admission to obey and for the willful violation to which disbarment may be had. “I do solemnly swear: “I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida; “I will maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers; “I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceedings which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land; “I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law; “I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my clients, and will accept no compensation in connection with their business except from them or with their knowledge and approval; “I will abstain from all offensive personality and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged; “I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defense- less or oppressed, or delay anyone’s cause for lucre or malice. So help me God.”

Letters

Letters continued on page 6

Age Discrimination in Employment Act I write in response to the Labor and Employment Law piece in the February 2010 issue (“The Age Dis- crimination in Employment Act of 1967: Issues Litigated at the Supreme Court Level”). The author did an excellent job of summarizing Supreme Court ju- risprudence regarding ADEA over the past 30 years, but, perhaps due to a publishing deadline or perhaps because the article focused on dis- parate impact cases, overlooked the recent case of Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., 129 S.Ct. 2343 (2009). In this critical case, the Supreme Court held that “a plaintiff bringing a disparate-treat- ment claim pursuant to the ADEA must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that age was the ‘but- for’ cause of the challenged adverse employment action.” Id. at 2352. Additionally, the court distinguished the ADEA from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it stated, “Unlike Title VII, the ADEA’s text does not provide that a plaintiff may establish

discrimination by showing that age was simply a motivating factor.” Id. at 2349. Thus, a plaintiff bringing an ADEA disparate treatment claim must prove that discrimination based on his/her age was the “but-for” cause of the adverse action and the ability to demonstrate a “mixed motive” by the alleged discriminating official will not save a plaintiff ’s case from dismissal. I am a government attorney; however, the views expressed in this letter repre- sent my personal views and are made exclusively in a personal capacity. Wynne P. Kelly, Arlington, VA

Civil Procedure Rule I enjoyed reading Mike Trenta- lange’s well-written article (“Setting a Case for Trial: Rule 1.440 Means What it Says, but Does it Say What it Means?”) about Rule 1.440 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, which appeared in March. He effec- tively addressed an issue that arises with frequency. However, case law sur-

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