Judge with 'vacation cancelitis' had best attendance, county swipe-card records show
The Tennessean examined swipe-card records for judges in Nashville’s Davidson County and found that Chancery Judge Russell Perkins showed up more often than any of his colleagues.
Records show Perkins was at the courthouse 302 days in the last fiscal year, the Tennessean reports. “My law partner accused me back in the day of having vacation ‘cancelitis.’ That’s my problem,” he told the newspaper. He says he makes a point of being at the courthouse on holidays and during judicial conferences because “I feel like somebody should be here.” He added that he is definitely planning to go on vacation next week.
The newspaper also identified six judges who appeared to work the least. One judge, now-retired General Sessions Judge Gloria Dumas, used her swipe card only 48 days last fiscal year, while five others used their swipe cards only 179 or fewer days.
Dumas’s lawyer said her absences were because of serious health issues. According to the Tennessean, Dumas paid about a third of her salary to a replacement judge who took over her duties. An October story by News Channel 5 explains that a retired judge was paid to substitute for Dumas, who had an equivalent amount deducted from her paycheck.
