The first Shelby County criminal jury trial in more than 13 months was supposed to have gotten underway Monday, but the defendant entered a guilty plea before the jury was seated, the Commercial Appeal reports. The trial was to take place in one of two brand-new, spacious courtrooms with plastic barriers and other features designed to reduce the spread of the new virus. No trials are scheduled next week, so the new courtrooms will sit empty until at least May 10 when the next trial is scheduled.

A new study released by the American Bar Association yesterday found stark divisions based on age and race when it comes to believing whether there are racial biases built into the rules, procedures and practices of the justice system. Among white respondents, 45% said such biases exist compared to 80% of Black respondents and 63% of Hispanic respondents. The ABA 2021 Survey of Civic Literacy also discovered that more than two-thirds of Americans age 18-34 believe racial biases exist in the justice system, while only about one-third age 65 and older do. In addition to the traditional civics questions that are asked, the survey included questions related to the rule of law, equal application of the law, perception of police, charging juveniles as adults, defunding the police and mass incarceration.

The Tennessee House and Senate yesterday approved a $42.6 billion annual spending plan for 2022, the Tennessean reports. Highlights include $2.4 million to create a statewide chancery court, designed to take constitutional challenges to state laws out of the hands of the Davidson County Chancery Court, and increased funding for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. With regard to the professional privilege tax, lawmakers rejected Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to reduce the tax from $400 to $300, opting instead to enact a more robust reduction, or possible elimination, next year. The bill also includes $784,000 for the District Attorney's Conference to make technology improvements that will complete and expand a new case management system for electronic discovery. The group has begun conversations with the Administrative Office of the Courts and Tennessee Department of Correction on how the system could be used in other ways such as expanding electronic judgements.

The approved plan also includes $121,000 for Lipscomb University’s LIFE Program, which provides opportunities for traditional students to study and learn alongside residents of the Tennessee Prison for Women. Finally, the bill provides a week-long sales tax holiday for groceries and prepared food, funding for a state commission to study medical marijuana, $250 million for a mental health trust fund, $250 million for the state’s retirement fund, and $5.3 million for nonprofit organizations working on sex trafficking issues. Having now passed a budget, lawmakers plan to return to Nashville next week to complete selected remaining legislation, including the “behind the budget” bills that were included in the final appropriations bill. Adjournment is expected to take place sometime the middle of next week.

Longtime Tennessee state senator Thelma Harper will lie in state from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT Wednesday at the state capitol, becoming the first African American woman to receive that honor. Harper, the first African American woman elected to the state Senate and longest serving female senator in state history, died April 22 at the age of 80. A four-day celebration is being planned next week at locations around Nashville that were important in her life: a community viewing at Schrader Lane Church of Christ on Monday, viewing at the Historic Metropolitan Courthouse on Tuesday, and a celebration of life, internment and barbecue in her honor on Thursday. WKRN has the schedule.

Nominations for two of the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual awards are due Monday. The Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award honors a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, our legal system and the administration of justice as exemplified by the career of Justice Frank F. Drowota III. The Claudia Jack Award honors an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who has served the legal community and their clients in an exemplary fashion. It is named after the late Claudia Jack, a public defender and long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged.

In advance of tomorrow’s Law Day celebration, the Knoxville Bar Association announced that Spencer Fair with London Amburn has won its 2021 Law & Liberty Award. Fair was honored for organizing monthly Veterans Legal Advice Clinics, which provide legal services to veterans and their families. Over the past five years, more than 100 attorneys and law students have assisted close to 500 in need. Watch the presentation ceremony here. Also read the ABA's statement on Law Day and get resources for marking the day.

Rutherford County attorney Benjamin Douglas Groce was reinstated to the practice of law on April 19. The Tennessee Supreme Court approved the petition for reinstatement saying Groce had paid all delinquent fees. He had been suspended for fee violations in 2011 and 2013. Florida attorney Jason Matthew Mayberry was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on April 21, retroactive to April 12. He was placed on inactive status more than five years ago.

A medical marijuana bill that was the main remaining vehicle for advancement of cannabis legislation in 2021 failed in a House committee this week, Nashville Post reports. The bill, which would have decriminalized possession of limited amounts of medical marijuana for certain conditions, lost on a 8-9 vote in the House Criminal Justice Committee despite support from committee chair Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson, and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. The legislation had previously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer will hold a “listening tour” in May with sessions beginning at 1 p.m. CDT on May 7 and 14. There is no agenda. Open discussion about any subject dealing with the court, the future of settlement procedures, trials, courtroom protocols and comments on rules are encouraged. To get your personal invite please email Clerk Penny Shrum. Let her know which date(s) you would like to attend and she will send the link to join the discussion on the morning of the event.

The TBA’s Business Law Section will host a two-day forum May 20-21 from 9 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. CDT both days. Join this virtual program for an examination of the critical aspects of valuation rules and guidelines in the context of M&A deals. Forum faculty includes certified valuation experts, business law professors, M&A attorneys, investment bankers and venture capital firms focusing on early-stage investments. Register now for the forum worth one dual and five general CLE credits.