Kingsport native and attorney Michael La Guardia died yesterday (July 1). A graduate of East Tennessee State University, LaGuardia served as vice-president and secretary of Giant Foods Markets and started multiple computer companies before earning his law degree from the University of Tennessee. LaGuardia served as the first attorney on the Kingsport Drug Court panel and his office served Sullivan, Washington, Hawkins and other surrounding counties.

Judge Rodney Victor Ahles died from a stroke at his home on Sunday (June 30). He was 82. Ahles was appointed city judge for Lebanon in 1970, serving for almost four decades of unprecedented consecutive terms in office. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona, the Bachelor of Law Degree from Cumberland University, and the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Samford University. He entered private practice of law in Lebanon in 1967 and, as part of his practice, drafted legislation for the State of Tennessee Legislative Council, in both the House and the Senate, for five sessions of the General Assembly. He retired from the bench in 2005. Because there have been so many beautiful tributes honoring him during the period of his retirement from the bench, Judge Ahles requested that no additional local memorial service or visitation be held at the time of his death. A dedication ceremony will be planned for the near future. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to First Presbyterian Church in Lebanon.

The failure to renew the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission this year continues to have significant ramifications, according to a Memphis Daily News article. “We think it was really irresponsible for the legislature not to act, to put it into sort of this muddle,” said Allan Ramsaur, executive director of the Tennessee Bar Association. “We have for 50 years favored merit selection and believe it and retention elections meet the constitutional test for election,” Ramsaur added.  Gavel Grab has more on the issue.

In a major concession to business groups, the Obama administration Tuesday unexpectedly announced a one-year delay, until 2015, in a central requirement of the new health care law that medium and large companies provide coverage for their workers or face fines, the Tennessean reports. The employer requirements are among the most complex parts of the health care law, which is designed to expand coverage for uninsured Americans. Under the law, companies with 50 or more workers must provide affordable coverage to their full-time employees or risk a series of escalating tax penalties. “We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Treasury Assistant Secretary Mark Mazur said in a blog post. “We have listened to your feedback and we are taking action.”

Brennon Center for Justice Fellow Andrew Cohen discusses the high price of judicial vacancies in an article published this week. Cohen writes that there are dozens of jurisdictions all across the nation that now operate under what are known as “judicial emergencies” because of a lack of confirmed judges. By delaying the administration of justice, by thwarting the principles of finality and certainty, judicial vacancies cause real harm both to the American people and to the free market, he writes. Cohen cites Alicia Bannon’s report “Federal Judicial Vacancies: The Trial Courts” as doing a better job than most of trying to bridge the gulf between the raw statistics of judicial vacancies and what those statistics mean for real people.

Former Knox County Trustee John Duncan III, who pled guilty yesterday to a felony charge of official misconduct, will be eligible for diversion despite a law enacted by the General Assembly last year that prohibits the practice in cases where a public official is convicted of a crime related to service while in office. The new law took effect on July 1, 2012. Duncan’s guilty plea to a charge of official misconduct was based on events occurring in late 2010. Thus, the law does not apply in Duncan’s case, according to District Attorney General Randy Nichols and Rep. Ryan Haynes, R-Knoxville, who sponsored the bill in question. Knoxnews has the story.

A U.S. District Court judge granted a preliminary injunction to block Tennessee-based restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old County Store from selling branded meat products in grocery stores. The Memphis Daily News reports that food giant Kraft Foods argued that the line would infringe on its own Cracker Barrel-trademarked cheese products, which registered the Cracker Barrel trademark more than a decade before Cracker Barrel Old Country Store used the name.

As China seeks to become a center of international business and finance, its need for sophisticated multinational legal and financial services is growing. To help law firms take advantage of these opportunities, the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce will lead a Legal Services Trade Mission to China, Sept. 16-18, with the support of the American Bar Association. Attached is a mission flyer as well as an application. For more information about this trade mission, contact Frank Spector at (202) 482-2054.

A special edition of Gavel to Gavel reviews the six confirmed states -- including Tennessee -- that will have 2014 ballot items substantially affecting the courts, with six more deemed “possible.” Currently Tennessee has a statutory-based merit selection system for the state’s appellate courts. SJR 2 would specifically put into the state constitution a quasi-federal system: governor appoints, House and Senate confirm, additional terms by retention elections.

Attorneys are busy at work on some of the lesser-known aspects of the Affordable Care Act, the Memphis Daily News reports. Beginning in January, businesses that employ 50 or more full-time equivalent employees must provide health care plans that meet minimum essential benefits requirements. But the largest employers – those that have 200 or more employees – also must make sure employees are automatically enrolled in a plan by January, said Craig Cowart, a partner with Fisher & Philips. “I’m confident most insurance carriers are working with employers on that now,” he said. “Employees will be able to opt out, but it’s definitely something employers need to be made aware of.”