An Iowa judge called a halt to a black man’s murder trial and dismissed the entire jury pool of over 100 people because it didn’t have racial diversity. The defendant had previously been granted a change of venue to have the case tried in Webster County, Iowa, because of the lack of black residents in Worth County. However, only one potential juror identified as nonwhite out of 112 , the ABA Journal reports. Noting that census data showed the population in Webster County to be nearly 5 percent black, the defense attorney argued that the jury pool should reflect that. The chance of conviction is cut by 10 percent if even one juror is black, he said.

Davidson County Judge Melissa Blackburn commends the state legislature and Gov. Bill Haslam for supporting expansion of veterans courts in an opinion piece published in the Tennessean. The General Sessions judge said the Veterans Court system provides a strong interdisciplinary team to work with each veteran, not only on the criminal case, but also on underlying causes. Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, and Rep. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro, sponsored the act, a first-in-the-nation initiative.

Two lawyers recently convicted for felony extortion had been disciplined multiple times by the Board of Professional Responsibility prior to their convictions, WSMV reports. Clarksville attorneys Fletcher Long and Carrie Gasaway have also been involved in several high-profile cases. Long represented Brandon Vandenburg in the Vanderbilt rape case, while Gasaway represented John McCaul in the Sonya custody case that drew national attention.

Hollins, Raybin & Weissman PC hopes to raise awareness among young people on the hazards of texting while driving with the creation of an essay contest. The firm will award three scholarships — one for Williamson County, one for Davidson County and one for the rest of the country — to the teenagers who write the best essays encouraging friends to stop texting while driving.

The Kids First Child Advocacy Center of the Ninth Judicial District is hosting its 13th annual fundraising dinner and silent auction at the Tellico Village Yacht Club on June 2. The organization helps children in Loudon, Roane, Morgan and Meigs counties recover from physical and sexual abuse. The theme for the dinner, "A Child's Voyage ... from Victim to Survivor," emphasizes the path from abuse to healing and how to move past feelings of guilt. Tickets can be bought by calling 865-986-1505 or by emailing ddubrule@cac9jd.org. Knoxnews has more.

The State Building Commission has approved the first step to make the Cordell Hull building next to the state Capitol the new home of the Tennessee General Assembly. The panel that includes Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville and fellow Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville approved expanding the scope of a $136 million Capitol complex project to make the move possible. The Daily Times has the story from the AP.

Recently appointed Circuit Court Judge Beth Boniface addressed the Greene County Republican Women Monday during the group's regular meeting at the General Morgan Inn, the Greeneville Sun reports. Boniface practiced law in Morristown before being named in April by Gov. Bill Haslam to fill the Third Judicial District Circuit Court judge vacancy.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Christopher Swift’s first-degree murder convention, making it the seventh conviction sent back for retrial since August. Swift was tried together with co-defendant Marquavious Houston in 2012 for the 2011 murder of Marco Blockmon and the attempted murder of Demarus Smith. The appeals court ruled that Swift and Houston should have had separate trials and that Criminal Court Judge James Beasley Jr. erred when prosecutors were allowed to show the jury an assault rifle that was not used in the crimes. The Memphis Daily News has more.

Chattanooga officials confirmed today that the city will have to return a $300,000 federal grant that was intended to help police monitor gang activity, as well as fund a special gang prosecutor position. The grant was awarded for use by a gang task force created by former Mayor Ron Littlefield, however Mayor Andy Berke disbanded the task force as soon as he took office, The Chattanooga Free Press reports.

Attorneys for a former football player convicted of raping an unconscious Vanderbilt University student in 2013 have asked the judge to declare a mistrial, the Tennessean reports. The motion claims that a juror who heard Brandon Vandenburg's trial in January had intentionally withheld information during the jury selection process. The attorneys say the juror is a victim of statutory rape and could not have been an unbiased juror.