I wish Susan Hawk only the very best, but for me, the time has come for her to put her full concentration on a complete and permanent recovery.
It’s this week’s Uncut commentary.
In January 2015, the Dallas County District Attorney, having defeated a Democratic incumbent, was the shining star among Dallas County Republicans.
Then, suddenly, word came of erratic behavior, dismissal of trusted staffers, and a Dallas Morning News report about a 2013 treatment for prescription drug abuse.
Then came more firings, an extended “summer break” involving treatment for severe depression, a second round of treatment, and now, since June, time away at a third facility.
Judge Hawk made this no secret. Last summer, she told us, “Mental illness is a fluid and dynamic disease that calls for unexpected and prolonged treatment [...] I did not choose this disease, but I am choosing to treat it aggressively and openly.”
The Morning News estimates she’s worked 66 days this year, with no scheduled date of return.
This is not about her competence -- clearly, she knows the law -- but Judge Hawk is in the midst of very real struggle; a struggle demanding, now more than ever, her complete and uninterrupted focus to once and for all master the private issues that have thus far eluded her.
No one -- no political opponent or no decent citizen -- can or should take advantage of her in this hour of her struggle. There should be no timeline for her return. No protest to demand her ouster.
But, also, there should be no shame and no campaign of whispers, should she decide to step aside.
For this is not about failure, it is about focus. It's not so much about Judge Hawk, as it is the rest of us.
I speak not against her, but in support of her, believing any pressure to return her to work even a day too early benefits neither Susan Hawk nor the rest of us.
Her sole goal in the days ahead, must be to equip herself completely with every tool necessary to cope with anything in life that may be ahead.
Those are my thoughts, tell me yours at jmccaa@wfaa.com or by commenting on the WFAA-TV Facebook post for this commentary.