Hamilton County Judge David BalesA General Sessions judge who’s been battling cancer for months has asked Gov. Bill Haslam to put someone in his place until he is fully recovered.
Judge David E. Bales told the Times Free Press in a written statement his letter asking for a special judge was hand-delivered to Haslam’s office Thursday.
The letter states Bales went on disability leave Friday and that “I fully intend to return full time to my judicial duties as a judge of the Hamilton County General Sessions Court as soon as possible.”
His letter to Haslam said he had cancer in his right tonsil and right cervical lymph nodes and received radiation and chemotherapy. The letter said Bales was declared cancer-free in November.
He wrote that he went back to work on Feb. 20. “It became clear to me shortly thereafter that I had been pushing too hard and that my return was premature,” Bales wrote.
The Times Free Press reported in March that Bales missed at least 45 days on the bench since his October diagnosis but had not taken medical leave or declared disability in that time. That meant his colleagues and other volunteers had to cover his share of the 50,000 cases that flow through Sessions Court every year.
County commissioners voted Feb. 1 to set aside $70,000 for attorneys who agree to cover Bales’ and another judge’s overwhelmed dockets.
The Times Free Press reported March 17 that Bales was going to ask for a special judge.