Little Rock's diversity manager should not be granted a new trial in her discrimination claim against the city, an attorney for Little Rock said in court filings Wednesday.
Ericka Benedicto, who is serving as her own legal representative, petitioned for a new federal court trial in an April 20 motion after a jury ruled in favor of the city during a two-day trial in her lawsuit the month before.
Benedicto, who is black, alleged that City Manager Bruce Moore, who also is black, discriminated against her because of her race when deciding to raise another manager's pay but not her own.
The city's Human Resources Department did a salary-equity study in 2010 for three employees in the city manager's office because one of them was hired with a greater salary than another, who had worked for the city for years.
The department recommended raising the pay of the senior employee, who is white, to that of the new hire, who also is white. A memo from the department to Moore said all three managers had similar experience, but it didn't make a recommendation on Benedicto's pay, which also was higher than the most senior employee at the time.
The senior employee's salary was then raised, while Benedicto's was not.
In her motion for a new trial, Benedicto argued that the facts of the case were on her side, that Moore lied under oath and misled the jury, and that the all-white jury pool violated a law that requires a jury be made up of a fair cross-section of the community.
In the city's response, filed Wednesday, Deputy City Attorney Bill Mann said Benedicto's objection to the jury's makeup wasn't timely under the law.
The U.S. Jury Selection and Service Act states that an objection must be made before jury examination begins, or within seven days of being able to discover the makeup of the jury, whichever is earlier, the response said.
All 32 people in the jury pool for this case were white. Twelve were selected to hear the case.
Mann also argued that Benedicto can't establish that the jury's verdict was against the greater weight of evidence or that a miscarriage of justice occurred because of the verdict.
"Plaintiff's recitation of her view of the evidence does not give a complete picture of the evidence that was presented to the jury," Mann wrote. "While there was evidence before the jury that was favorable to plaintiff, for instance the [memo] that included a statement that all three ... managers had similar professional experience, there was other evidence that clearly showed this was not the case."
He said Benedicto didn't mention in her motion for a new trial the fact that both of the white managers who were paid more than her also had been in the full-time workforce 10 years longer than she had.
In regards to the allegation that Moore lied on the stand, the city pointed out that Benedicto was able to serve as a rebuttal witness before the jury and rebut Moore's testimony. It's the jury's job to decide which witness to believe, Mann said.
"The evidence presented at trial clearly demonstrates that Mr. Moore does not favor employees in his office based upon race, whether the employees are black or white," Mann wrote.
Judge Brian Miller, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, will review Benedicto's motion and the city's response before issuing a ruling in the matter.
Metro on 04/28/2016