April 21, 2025 Story by: Editor
The Department of Justice voluntarily dismissed its civil lawsuit against the Mississippi State Senate over allegations that the legislative body paid a Black attorney less money than her white colleagues.
Court documents did not specify a reason for the dismissal, and a Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office helped defend the Senate in the litigation. MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch, told Mississippi Today in a statement that the “state is pleased” with the dismissal.
Kristie Metcalfe, who is Black, worked as a staff attorney for the Senate’s Legislative Services Office from December 2011 to November 2019. Metcalfe’s starting salary was $55,000, while other Senate staff attorneys were paid $95,550 to $121,800, according to the lawsuit.
Lawyers for the office draft legislation and handle other legal questions for the individual 52 senators.
According to court documents, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated Metcalfe’s claims and found reasonable cause that the state discriminated against her based on race.
Current Gov. Tate Reeves was the leader of the Senate when he served as lieutenant governor from January 2012 until January 2020, the bulk of the period during which Metcalfe worked in the Senate.
The state in court briefings did not dispute that Metcalfe was paid less than her white colleagues. But it argued that Metcalfe was exempt from federal civil rights laws and that the lawsuit shouldn’t proceed because of a litigation freeze implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Department of Justice initially filed the lawsuit last year in the waning days of former President Joe Biden’s administration. After Trump took office, his Justice Department ordered the Civil Rights Division to halt most of its work and review its current cases.
Source: AP News
