A Fulton County judge has scheduled a hearing on Monday to consider ex-Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall’s request to delay her trial because she is battling Stage IV breast cancer.
Hall’s lawyers have filed a motion seeking to delay her trial, now scheduled to begin late this month, for six to eight months. Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter has now scheduled a hearing to address that request.
Hall’s motion said her oncologist believes Hall is now physically and mentally unable to attend trial or meaningfully assist with her defense.
Hall’s doctor, Laura Weakland of Georgia Cancer Specialists, said Hall now requires aggressive medical treatment, such as chemotherapy which increases her risk of infection and disease. Requiring Hall to stand trial in the coming weeks would put her life at risk, Weakland said in a sworn statement that was attached to the motion.
“Put simply, Dr. Hall must focus on her health right now if she is to have a chance for successful treatment,” Weakland said. Provided Hall responds well to her treatments, it is possible she could stand trial late this year, Weakland said.
Hall’s first bout with breast cancer occurred in 2004, but in late 2011, she was diagnosed with it again by doctors who found it had spread to other parts of her body, the motion said.
Late last year, doctors found that the progression had increased, and even more recent scans have found even further progression, the motion said.
Hall, 67, is charged in a racketeering conspiracy in the APS test-cheating scandal. She has maintained her innocence, and her lawyers have said she wants to clear her name at trial.
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