The investiture ceremony for Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight will be on March 13 at 2 p.m. at the U.S. Courthouse in Knoxville. The ceremony will take place in Courtroom 4 with a reception following on the fourth floor. RSVP online by Feb. 13 . 

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for the Circuit Court Judge vacancy in the Third Judicial District – Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties. The vacancy has been created by the death of Judge Michael Faulk, who died in November. Applications are available at the AOC website and must be submitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon on Jan. 30.

The University of Tennessee College of Law's new dean brings a career in civil law and criminal procedure to the college, along with her academic credentials, the Daily Beacon reports. Melanie Wilson comes to UT from the University of Kansas, where she served as the associate dean for academic affairs. Before that, she was a former prosecutor and assistant attorney general of Georgia. UT law professor Alex Long said Wilson’s experience made her an ideal candidate for succeeding current dean Doug Blaze.“We wanted someone who was an excellent teacher, good scholar and public servant,” Long said. “We wanted somebody who we thought would bring some new ideas to the law college."

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby will be honored with the 2015 Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award by the Association for Women Attorneys. The banquet and silent auction will be held Jan. 29 at the Holiday Inn University of Memphis. RSVP by Jan. 21 to Keating Lowery, (901) 844-4438.

Chattanooga attorney and author Graham Swafford will be featured at a book signing at Barnes and Noble tomorrow at 2 p.m. at their Gunbarrell Road location. Swafford’s book “Go to the Pound and Get A Dog … Then Learn to Fly an Airplane: Life’s Lessons Acquired by a Country Lawyer From the Courthouse Square to the Supreme Court” is dedicated to his wife, Sharon. All profits will go towards a Family Life Center at McKendree Methodist Church in Jasper. The Chattanoogan has more.

Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, and Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, have filed legislation that would block the creation of a state health exchange in the event a federal court rules that tax credits under the Affordable Care Act are available only on state exchanges. Senate Bill 72 is designed to prevent “Tennessee from operating any ObamaCare exchanges in the future,” Kelsey said in a statement. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in King vs. Burwell — a case that challenges the use of tax subsidies on the federal exchange under the ACA — on March 4. The Tennessean has the story.

The new Family Justice Center that plans to open in Chattanooga will be located in a city-owned building in the Eastgate Center. While that building is readied, it will open this spring nearby at 5741 Cornelison Drive. Executive Director Dr. Valerie Radu said 10 agencies thus far have agreed to be involved in a coordinated operation aiding domestic violence victims at a single site. Chattanooga will be part of a statewide alliance that includes six similar centers. The Chattanoogan has more.

U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar asked attorneys to provide more details about what Pilot Flying J promised several trucking companies that claimed they were cheated by the retail giant. The trucking companies claim they were cheated out of fuel rebates and discounts promised by Pilot Flying J, the nation’s largest diesel retailer with annual revenues of about $30 billion. Most of the lawsuits against Pilot were resolved by a class-action settlement, in which Pilot agreed to pay out nearly $85 million to 5,500 customers. The trucking companies involved in this hearing opted out of the settlement to pursue their own suits. The Tennessean has more.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to decide whether all 50 states must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, the New York Times reports. The court’s announcement that it will hear cases out of Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio made it likely that it would resolve one of the great civil rights questions of the age before its current term ends in June. The justices ducked the issue in October, refusing to hear appeals from rulings allowing same-sex marriage in five states. The number of states allowing same-sex marriage has since grown to 36.

The trial court awarded permanent total disability benefits to the employee for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. It apportioned the award between the employer and the Second Injury Fund. Both have appealed. Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, the appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. We affirm the trial court in its award for permanent and total disability benefits for a subsequent scheduled member injury.