On the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Tennessean looks at the 26 Tennesseans who have been charged in connection with the event. Most face trespassing charges, but some have been accused of serious assaults, including on law enforcement officers. Others have already been adjudicated and received punishment in the form of fines, jail time and probation. See the full list. At a White House ceremony marking the day, President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 12 individuals who "demonstrated courage and selflessness" in the events surrounding the attack, Reuters reports.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has identified three sites as potential locations for Chattanooga’s new federal courthouse. Chattanoogan.com reports they are: the TVA Office Building, Hawk Hill Lookouts Field and property at Lindsey and Houston streets. The new courthouse will replace the historic courthouse on Georgia Avenue across from Miller Park. Earlier this year, GSA received congressional authorization to spend $218,381,000 for site acquisition, design and construction. For more information and updates visit the GSA’s website for the project.

South Carolina's Supreme Court ruled today that a 2021 state law banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional because it violates a right to privacy. The state law took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the right to abortion that had been established by the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. Planned Parenthood challenged the law and today, the court ruled 3-2 in its favor. "We hold that our state constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion," Justice Kaye Hearn wrote in the majority opinion. Hearn went on to say that the state can set some limits on abortion, but any regulation should give a woman "sufficient time to determine she is pregnant and to take reasonable steps to terminate that pregnancy." Six weeks was "not a reasonable period of time," Hearn concluded. Reuters reports on the decision.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a rule that would ban companies from requiring workers to sign non-compete provisions as well as some training repayment agreements, Reuters reports. The move is designed to support workers who leave their employers to seek better jobs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has indicated that it will oppose the proposal. Legal challenges are likely to focus on whether Congress clearly authorized the FTC to adopt nationwide bans on what the agency deems anti-competitive practices.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal this week ordered Gov. Bill Lee’s office to release certain documents pertaining to a no-bid contract, the Nashville Scene reports. The move was forced through a lawsuit by the Scene’s parent company FW Publishing, and reporter Stephen Elliott. The news source was seeking access to reports by consulting firm McKinsey & Co., which received a $3 million no-bid contract to evaluate the state’s post-COVID 19 reopening, its operations and “support to the Unified Command Group.” The Lee administration had claimed “deliberative process privilege” to keep the reports secret. Moskal ruled that the reports are public records under the Tennessee Public Records Act and that the act does not provide an exemption for such a privilege. Read more about the deliberative process privilege from the Tennessean.

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Southwest Airlines by a passenger who said the company failed to provide refunds to those left stranded when an operational meltdown led to the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights last month. The suit, filed Dec. 30 in New Orleans federal court, accuses the airline of breach of contract. It also seeks damages for those on canceled flights who did not receive refunds or expense reimbursements. Southwest says it will reimburse affected passengers for reasonable expenses but it might take several weeks, Reuters reports.

The Tennessee Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met today to consider five applicants for an upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the council selected the following three applicants: Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Kristi M. Davis, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Tom Greenholtz and Knoxville lawyer Dwight E. Tarwater. Once the governor makes his selection, the confirmation process will begin before the General Assembly. The vacancy will be created when Justice Sharon G. Lee retires on Aug. 31. Read more about the three candidates selected.

Immigration rights groups in Tennessee say that the demand for immigration legal services far exceeds supply and the need has grown more acute as immigrant communities have expanded. The issue affects the ability for newcomers to avoid deportation, obtain drivers’ licenses and work permits, and access benefits they are eligible for, the groups tell Tennessee Lookout. According to a report from The Center for Migration Studies, there are 2,200 undocumented immigrants in Tennessee for every immigration legal professional. Leaders reportedly are beginning to look at programs that provide publicly funded legal support for immigrants. More than 55 jurisdictions and nine states offer some kind of public support according to Vera Institute.

Plaintiffs behind two lawsuits challenging Tennessee’s private school voucher law plan to appeal a judicial panel’s dismissal of their remaining legal claims, Chalkbeat Tennessee reports. Metropolitan Nashville and Shelby County governments, which jointly challenged the 2019 law that applies only to their counties, notified the Tennessee Court of Appeals late last month that they will appeal the latest ruling. Attorneys representing parents and taxpayers in a second lawsuit submitted a separate notice of appeal. The local governments are relying on arguments from a dissenting opinion from Chancellor Anne Martin, who said the plaintiffs’ allegations of discriminatory treatment and unequal funding were sufficient concerns to let the case proceed.

Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, has revealed that he discussed dissolving the state Department of Children’s Services (DCS) during the height of criticism against the agency, WKRN reports. Roberts is chair of the Government Operations Committee, which oversees DCS. He remembers asking a colleague: “We have had nothing but problems since 1996 of varying degrees, so do we have it structured wrong? Do we have a fundamental flaw in how we have structured this entity? Do we have a fundamental flaw in the way we funded it? The way we’ve organized it? Do we need to just blow it up and start all over? Do we need to take the various functions and give them to other people? Do we even need a DCS?” Roberts now says there is a “robust” plan in the works to reform DCS.